Europe’s tokenized securities get a rulebook as the EU hands drafting duties to industry 🧩

The European Central Bank, European Commission and European Securities and Markets Authority are seeking nominations for an industry-led group tasked with drafting common standards for holding and settling tokenized securities, according to a release published Monday.

Eligible applicants include EU industry associations, global institutions, private firms and fintech companies, which can apply to join the European Tokenisation Standards Group (ETSG) by Nov. 27. Work is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with the three EU institutions participating as observers. The group will develop technical and market standards intended to help companies hold and settle tokenized securities across different distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms while allowing those platforms to connect with existing financial systems.

Under its mandate, the ETSG aims to deliver an initial set of standards by early 2028. Its work will support Appia, the Eurosystem initiative developing a blueprint for Europe’s tokenized financial markets. The institutions said fragmentation could limit the benefits of tokenization and that the group may recommend ways for EU authorities to encourage adoption of its standards.

The initiative follows the Eurosystem’s September launch of Pontes, a system that enables financial institutions to settle wholesale transactions in tokenized assets in central bank money. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is also set to step down in February 2027.