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**The three major EU institutions are soliciting nominations for a tokenized securities standards working group**
The European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the European Securities and Markets Authority are jointly soliciting member nominations for an industry-led working group. The working group will develop unified standards for the holding and settlement of tokenized securities. Eligible applicants include EU industry associations, global institutions, private enterprises, and fintech companies, which may apply to join the European Tokenisation Standards Group (ETSG) before November 27. The relevant work will begin in January 2027, and the three EU institutions mentioned above will participate as observers. The working group will develop technical and market standards to help enterprises hold and settle tokenized securities on different distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms, and ensure that these platforms can be compatible with existing financial systems. According to its terms of reference, the working group plans to produce its first standards in early 2028. These standards will support Appia, the EUR system's plan to develop a blueprint for Europe's tokenized financial market. The three institutions warned that market fragmentation may limit the benefits brought by tokenization, and the working group may make recommendations on how EU regulators can encourage enterprises to adopt its standards. In September this year, the EUR system launched the Pontes system, allowing financial institutions to settle wholesale transactions of tokenized assets in central bank money.