FRANKFURT, 1 July 2025: 21X, the first financial institution licensed to operate a regulated trading and settlement venue for tokenized financial instruments in the EU under the DLT Regime, notes today’s publication by the European Central Bank (ECB) of its report on the Eurosystem’s exploratory work on new technologies for wholesale central bank money settlement.
Read the full report here: The Eurosystem’s exploratory work on new technologies for wholesale central bank money settlement
This publication of this report coincides with the ECB Governing Council’s approval of a two-track strategy (“Pontes” and “Appia”) to enable DLT transactions settlement in central bank money.
Read the press release here: ECB Commits to distributed ledger technology settlement plans with dual-track strategy
21X is proud to have been an active participant alongside 64 other institutions in this Eurosystem initiative. The exploratory work, conducted between May and November 2024, involved over 50 trails and experiments settling nearly EUR 1.6 billion in central bank money.
21X participated using the Full DLT Interoperability solution (DL3S), operated by Banque de France, which investigated the transformative potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for settling transactions using central bank money.
The report highlights key benefits that DLT can bring to wholesale markets, including:
- Enhanced efficiency & speed: Streamlining processes and accelerating settlement times.
- Reduced counterparty risk: Enabling near-instantaneous delivery-versus-payment (DvP) mechanisms.
- Increased automation: Leveraging smart contracts for more robust and error-free operations.
- Greater transparency & immutability: Building trust through verifiable and tamper-proof records.
Beyond these benefits, the report underscores DLT’s potential to fundamentally reshape financial market structures, processes, and the distribution of roles across the entire value chain, addressing fragmentation and complexity hindering Europe’s digital capital markets.
Through this collaboration, 21X contributed to exploring how DLT can transform capital markets. The company trialled diverse use cases, including cross-border payments to diverse securities settlements, contributing to the exploration of mechanisms like delivery-versus-payment (DvP). The insights gained underscore the potential of this new financial infrastructure.
Max J. Heinzle, CEO of 21X commented:
“The Eurosystem’s approval of the Pontes and Appia strategy and this report demonstrate a clear commitment to fostering a more harmonized, efficient, and resilient financial ecosystem. 21X remains dedicated to contributing our expertise to this exciting journey as we collectively build the future of finance.”
21X looks forward to reviewing the comprehensive overview of the various use cases explored by other market participants, alongside the detailed findings from their trials. The collective learnings derived from this collaborative effort will be critical in guiding the industry’s successful implementation of these innovative solutions.
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About 21X
21X is a Frankfurt-based financial institution at the forefront of revolutionizing capital markets through the use of blockchain technology. In December 2024, 21X secured a license to operate its groundbreaking distributed ledger technology (DLT) trading and settlement system (DLT TSS) trading venue, a milestone that places the company as a leader in the transition to digital finance. The company is ideally positioned to enable smart contract-based issuance, trading and settlement of tokenized stocks, bonds and funds.
21X exchange went live on 20th May with the launch of its primary market. It is set to launch its secondary market for peer-to-peer trading and settlement in the coming weeks, bringing the future of capital markets to life.
See the short explainer video on 21X and our blockchain-based exchange here
For more information on 21X, contact:
Richie MacTaggart, head of PR & marketing
Mail: press@21X.eu
Mob: +44 7828173419
Web: https://21x.eu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/21x/
