Czech central bank tests DLT bonds, boxing out stablecoins

Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl wants central bank money to anchor tokenized securities settlement, a preference that could limit the institutional payment balances available to stablecoin issuers.

He set out that position on Nov. 10, as the bank announced it had completed small bond and repo tests.

If eligible institutions can pay through usable central-bank-money infrastructure, those trades need not generate demand for stablecoins. Yet, the CNB has not identified the pilot’s exact cash instrument, so the competitive implication remains forward-looking.

The opportunity for private issuers depends on who supplies the payment asset and whether bonds move onto distributed ledgers.

A small bond test with a larger ambition

The CNB reported completed transfers, purchases and sales against payment, and repo transactions during October and November.

According to the bank, settlement was almost instantaneous, but transaction volume was only in the tens of thousands of koruna.

In his Nov. 10 speech, Michl named commercial bank Česká spořitelna as the counterparty, put each bond’s nominal value at CZK 10,000 and said interest payments had also been tested.

The bonds ran on Prague’s Central Securities Depository infrastructure using distributed-ledger technology (DLT). The CNB says only approved financial institutions can access the network, with transaction records visible only to the counterparties.

Michl’s goal is a much larger market for koruna-denominated assets that are easier to buy and sell than German Bunds. That is an ambition for the market, beyond what a small test establishes.

His settlement preference also sits alongside a broader willingness to experiment. A year earlier, CNB Lab had started testing Bitcoin, a dollar stablecoin and a tokenized deposit.

The depository’s general transfer guidance describes a buyer paying its cash account. Receipt of the money triggers the securities transfer and generation of a payment order to the seller.

Crediting the seller then depends on the receiving bank, its support for instant payments, and the transfer timing.

A Nov. 5 presentation by CNB payments-regulation director Michal Vodrážka said settlement in CNB money on DLT was not yet available.

That was five days before the bond-test announcement, which did not specify whether the cash arrangement had changed. The Nov. 5 presentation also said the CNB Board had made no decision to issue a Czech retail central bank digital currency.

Putting a bond on a shared ledger does not determine which institution supplies the money used to buy it.

Pontes makes the stablecoin alternative operational

The Eurosystem launched Pontes on Sept. 21 to enable wholesale tokenized asset transactions to settle in central bank money. An initial group of market participants and DLT operators had completed onboarding, with more institutions expected to connect.

Compare the settlement models

Completed October-November bond and repo tests were announced on Nov. 10, 2026. Select another state to compare the cash-settlement model.

A usable central-bank cash option could let tokenized securities grow without creating matching stablecoin demand.

The pilot’s exact cash instrument is undisclosed. Pontes is separate from the Czech tests. Hours expansion is planned; no stablecoin displacement is measured.

Sources and evidence

Sources

1. CNB test announcement, Nov. 10, 2026
2. Michl speech, Nov. 10, 2026
3. CSD Prague transfer guidance
4. CNB presentation, Nov. 5, 2026
5. ECB Pontes launch, Sept. 21, 2026
6. ECB speech, Oct. 29, 2026

Supporting facts

• The CNB announced on November 10, 2026 that it had completed tokenized koruna-bond transfers, purchases and sales against payment and repo tests during October and November, with transaction volume in the tens of thousands of koruna and settlement described as almost instantaneous. [1]
• The CNB says the tokenized bonds ran on the Central Securities Depository's DLT infrastructure, with network access limited to approved financial institutions and transaction records visible only to counterparties. [1]
• Michl said central-bank involvement should put central-bank money at the core of settlement rather than private money such as stablecoins; his aim of making koruna assets easier to trade than German Bunds is an ambition, not a demonstrated test result. [2] [1]
• CSD Prague's public DLT transfer guidance describes a buyer paying the depository's cash account; receipt triggers the securities transfer and a payment order to the seller, whose eventual credit depends on the receiving bank, instant-payment support and transfer timing. [3]
• A presentation by CNB payments-regulation director Michal Vodrážka dated November 5, 2026 states that settlement in CNB money on DLT was not yet available. [4]
• The CNB's November 10 announcement and speech do not identify the exact cash-settlement instrument or account used in the October-November pilot and do not establish that the pilot settled using CNB money on DLT. [2] [1]
• The Eurosystem launched Pontes on September 21, 2026 for wholesale tokenized-asset settlement in central-bank money, with an initial group of market participants and DLT operators onboarded and further institutions expected to join. [5]
• In its October 29 speech, the ECB said Pontes connects market DLT platforms with TARGET Services and planned significantly longer operating hours by mid-2027 and 24/7/365 availability in 2028. [6]
• As analysis, if eligible institutional securities buyers can settle through connected central-bank-money infrastructure, those transactions need not create demand for private stablecoins as their settlement asset; this could narrow the future institutional balances stablecoin issuers compete to supply. [2] [1] [5] [6]
• The approved-institution CNB network and Pontes's gradual service expansion limit the scope of the comparison: the cited sources establish neither a stablecoin prohibition nor observed switching away from stablecoins. [1] [5] [6]

Method

Schematic trade flows and three reported states. Undirected connectors pair the securities and payment legs, not asset conversions. Dashed pairs mark test scope or a goal; the solid Pontes pair marks operational settlement. No quantitative chart adds value because test scale and future operating dates are not comparable measurements.

Scope

The pilot’s exact cash instrument is undisclosed. Pontes is separate from the Czech tests. Hours expansion is planned; no stablecoin displacement is measured.

Infographic by CryptoSlate

Pontes connects market DLT platforms with the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services, and availability is still expanding. In an Oct. 29 speech, the ECB described plans for significantly longer operating hours by mid-2027 and 24/7/365 availability in 2028.

Where an eligible buyer can use connected central bank settlement infrastructure, a tokenized securities purchase need not require a private settlement token.

If that infrastructure becomes more accessible and usable, it could narrow the prospective market for stablecoin balances used to pay for securities.

The Czech network has restricted institutional access, while Pontes is expanding its services in stages.

The next meaningful test of Michl’s vision is how central bank money becomes available for those trades, to which institutions and during which hours.

If a larger tokenized koruna market develops around public settlement money, more securities activity could arrive without a corresponding need for private settlement tokens.