Beau Raises Hypothetical Clearing Idea for Tokenized Deposits

Banque de France First Deputy Governor Denis Beau described a hypothetical private-sector clearing mechanism for tokenized bank deposits that would settle through Pontes, the Eurosystem’s wholesale settlement service for tokenized transactions in central bank money.

Beau raised the idea at Hong Kong Fintech Week on Nov. 3 as a possible area of work for a French market group focused on tokenization. He did not announce a project, name participating firms or say that private firms had secured access to Pontes.

Beau argued that Europe should preserve a role for central bank money as payments and financial assets move to digital systems. He pointed to the growing role of non-European card providers and the emergence of dollar-denominated stablecoins as settlement assets.

The Eurosystem launched Pontes on Sept. 21, 2026, to settle wholesale tokenized-asset transactions in central bank money. The Banque de France and Euroclear also plan to use Pontes for the cash side of their Pythagore tokenized commercial paper project.