ECB official proposes concept of unified European digital asset ledger

Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank's executive board, proposed the concept of a "European ledger," a continental unified ledger. Such a blockchain could bring together Europe's digital assets and funds in one place, thereby improving efficiency and synergy. He said that Europe's traditional capital markets are fragmented and need to overcome uncoordinated legislation, but there is an opportunity to create a unified platform for digital assets. He called the platform the Digital Capital Markets Union. Cipollone said that more than 60% of banks in the European Union are exploring or experimenting with distributed ledger technology (DLT), and another 22% are already using it. He said at a seminar hosted by the German central bank that although DLT provides an opportunity to create financial integration, it does not guarantee it. On the contrary: "The non-interoperable technology ecosystem in each country or region - formed by different national or regional regulatory systems - has created isolated asset liquidity pools, further exacerbating fragmentation." Currently, DLT is mainly used to issue assets, but extending its application to negotiation, settlement and custody on the same platform can reduce costs and allow 24-hour operations. Investors will benefit from greater use of DLT, but they are not the only beneficiaries. Cipollone said: “In this changing environment, our main goal is to ensure that central bank money – the safest and most liquid settlement asset – remains a cornerstone of stability, even in token- and DLT-based capital markets.” (Cointelegraph)