ECB board member Piero Cipollone noted that these instruments will play the role of commercial bank money in traditional finance. However, for their effective functioning in the tokenized financial market, they require a CBDC. Without a digital euro, a seller of a tokenized security might receive payment in an asset exposed to volatility and credit risk, which limits market scaling. Cipollone suggests using a CBDC as a bridge to convert one private settlement asset into another.
Cipollone also stated that the ECB expects to announce European standards for the digital euro by the summer. After this, the regulator will collaborate with market participants to implement these standards, including payment terminals and other solutions.