ECB DLT trials in 2024: key findings

How are the ECB DLT trials shaping Europe’s digital market future?

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Key findings

Topics

DLT and digital assets

Region

Europe

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The ECB DLT trials brought together more than 60 organisations and supported over 200 completed transactions, giving the market a practical test of DLT across European capital markets. These key findings examine what participants learned and what the trials reveal about the next phase of digital market development.

Trial participation breadth

Scale

A figure card showing 60+ organisations involved.

Central banks, issuers, banks, market infrastructures, investors and technology providers all took part.

The breadth of participation gave the trials credibility beyond a standard proof of concept.

Transactions completed

Activity

The range of transaction types gave participants practical exposure to live DLT use cases.

The depth of activity moved many firms from theory to hands-on experience.

Assets processed

Volume

A figure card showing EUR 1.6bn processed during the trials.

Achieving this scale in a test environment shows DLT infrastructure can support meaningful market activity.

The trials helped build a foundation for wider digital market development across more than 70 firms in Europe.

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in Europe is moving beyond theory and into market testing. The European Central Bank (ECB) trials created a practical environment for firms to test infrastructure, deepen expertise and assess how digital market models could evolve across the European Union.

What did participants gain from the ECB DLT trials, and how far have they moved the European market forward? Where is momentum building, and what do the trials suggest about the future role of DLT in securities processing and market infrastructure?

The findings are based on interviews with 32 participants in the ECB DLT trials, conducted in November and December 2024, alongside wider market analysis of the current state and outlook for DLT across the European Union.

The research, developed by The ValueExchange based on participant interviews from the ECB DLT trials, highlights:

60+ organisations involved across central banks, issuers, banks, market infrastructures, investors and technology providers — the trials achieved broad market representation

200+ transactions completed, covering securities issuance, settlement, servicing and mobilisation, giving participants practical exposure to live DLT use cases

The trials processed euro (EUR) 1.6 billion in assets under management and turnover, showing meaningful scale in a testing environment

Participants said the trials accelerated learning, moving many firms from beginner to intermediate levels of DLT experience

Infrastructure momentum is building: the work created a stronger foundation for wider digital market development across more than 70 firms in Europe

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