ECB, European Commission, and ESMA jointly seek nominations for members of the European tokenization standards group.

November 9 — According to an announcement on the European Commission's official website, the European Central Bank (ECB), together with the European Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), is soliciting expressions of interest from the wholesale financial markets industry to join the European Tokenisation Standards Group (ETSG). The group will bring together industry stakeholders to develop common standards for an interoperable tokenised financial ecosystem.

Tokenisation and distributed ledger technology (DLT) are transforming how financial services and markets operate. The European side believes that, if designed properly, DLT could significantly enhance the efficiency of the financial system and promote integration, but European stakeholders still face fragmentation and silo issues in existing systems that may hinder the realization of new technology benefits. The ETSG aims to establish a compliance monitoring framework for agreed standards and may advise EU authorities on how to incentivize compliance. The group's work will be market-driven, shaped by industry contributions and consensus; the chair will be an industry figure, with the ECB, the European Commission, and ESMA serving as observers. Participation will include EU industry associations, private entities, global institutions, fintech companies, and technology providers engaged in tokenisation or DLT-based financial services.

In December 2025, the European Commission already adopted the Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP), intended to eliminate barriers in the single market for financial services and remove regulatory obstacles to applying DLT in financial services. One key measure is to require active entities in the post-trade value chain, whether or not within the pilot regime, to promote interoperability between different DLT market infrastructures and develop technical standards supporting interoperability. Industry and public institutions interested in joining the ETSG need to review the relevant background materials and respond to the call for nominations, with the application deadline being November 27, 2026.