Reporting: sourced factual coverage reviewed by the editorial desk.
The Eurosystem plans to extend Pontes operating hours significantly by mid-2027 and reach 24/7/365 availability in 2028, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said in an October 29 speech. Immediate settlement finality on its DLT platform is planned as early as 2027.
Those are future milestones. Cipollone said Pontes has connected market DLT platforms with TARGET Services for settlement in central bank money since September 21. Today’s speech does not mark a new launch.
For readers following tokenized securities, the distinction matters: a digital asset’s transferability does not establish that its cash settlement service operates around the clock. The roadmap addresses that operational boundary.
The speech also points to an Appia consultation report published October 28. Appia seeks a European tokenized-finance blueprint by 2028; it is not a completed replacement for existing infrastructure. Cipollone said T2S will continue alongside newer platforms.
The accompanying image is a conceptual representation of settlement infrastructure, not an actual facility or event.
Sources & evidence
European Central Bank — Piero Cipollone speech, October 29, 2026 ↗
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