Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), announced that Europe will transition to T+1 (next-day) securities settlement by October 11, 2027, as part of a broader financial infrastructure transformation aimed at enhancing efficiency, resilience, safety, and competitiveness. The Eurosystem is actively contributing to this shift, having already begun accepting marketable assets issued using distributed ledger technology (DLT) as eligible collateral for its credit operations since March 30, 2026. Additionally, its Pontes platform has supported wholesale transactions in tokenized assets settled in central bank money since September 21, 2026. The ECB plans to significantly enhance Pontes' functionalities, including extending operating hours by mid-2027 and achieving 24/7/365 availability in 2028, with immediate settlement finality on the Eurosystem DLT platform expected as early as next year.