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ECB to accept DLT-based assets as eligible Eurosystem collateral
27 January 2026The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced that the Eurosystem will accept marketable assets issued in central securities depositories (CSDs) that use distributed‑ledger‑technology (DLT) services as eligible collateral for Eurosystem credit operations from 30 March. As with other marketable assets, these DLT‑based instruments must meet the Eurosystem's collateral eligibility criteria and collateral management requirements. This includes settlement through eligible securities settlement systems that comply with the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) and are reachable via TARGET2‑Securities.
These assets will be handled as collateral in the same way as other marketable assets under existing Eurosystem's collateral management practices. The ECB also announced it is launching a workplan to assess whether, and under what conditions, assets issued using DLT and not represented in eligible traditional securities settlement systems, could become eligible as collateral in the future. Using a phased approach, the ECB will consider technological progress, market developments and evolving regulatory developments, including under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation, the DLT Pilot Regime, the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation and national securities laws in the euro area.
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