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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesOn 9 October 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) opened a call for evidence on whether EU central counterparties (CCPs) can use tokenised collateral safely and effectively. The central question is whether, after a clearing-member default, a CCP can access the asset and turn it into usable funds in the currency and timeframe needed to manage the default. ESMA has not concluded that crisis cash-out is proven—or that tokenised collateral has failed. Responses are due 15 January 2027; ESMA says it will assess them in Q1 2027 before deciding whether further action within its remit is appropriate.
What ESMA is asking—and what it is not deciding
The call examines how tokenisation could affect the lifecycle of collateral already eligible for CCP use: mobilisation, transfer, management, protection and realisation. ESMA is testing whether existing requirements and supervision can accommodate tokenised arrangements safely. It is not reassessing or expanding the categories of collateral that CCPs may accept.
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That distinction matters: tokenising an asset does not, by itself, make it eligible, liquid or readily convertible. The practical test is whether a particular arrangement can deliver value reliably when the CCP needs it, including under stress.
Why the default scenario is the key test
CCPs collect collateral to cover current and potential future losses if a clearing member defaults. In that event, collateral must move from being merely posted to being available for default management. Depending on the asset and arrangement, that may require a transfer, transformation, sale, repo or another route to realisation.
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A token may make an asset easier to identify, allocate or pre-position without removing the need for a custodian or central securities depository (CSD) to complete a later step. A native ledger arrangement may depend more directly on ledger operations, liquidity, settlement mechanisms or intermediaries. ESMA is asking respondents to examine those dependencies and the time and certainty of reaching usable funds in both normal and stressed conditions.
What tokenised collateral arrangements can look like
Digital twins of conventionally held assets
A digital twin is a token that represents or facilitates the use of an asset that remains held and recorded in conventional custody, settlement or CSD infrastructure. A central question is how the token record is reconciled with the underlying asset’s authoritative record—the “golden record”—and which record prevails if they conflict.
Natively issued assets
With a natively issued asset, issuance, holding, transfer and collateral operations take place directly in a distributed ledger technology (DLT) environment. Reaching value may depend on the ledger, available liquidity, connected payment and settlement assets, and any external infrastructure or intermediaries.
Hybrid arrangements
Hybrid models combine elements of the two approaches and may interact with tokenised cash or other settlement assets. ESMA’s comparison is therefore not simply blockchain versus conventional infrastructure. It is whether each arrangement can deliver the rights, access and liquidity a CCP needs, with dependencies that remain manageable in a default.
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Legal rights, records and transfers must work in practice
ESMA asks whether token-represented rights are enforceable under applicable law, including across borders and in insolvency. A token’s status as a financial instrument does not, on its own, establish whether a DLT record creates or transfers property rights.
For digital twins, the legal and operational relationship between the token and the underlying asset needs to be clear, including which record controls in a discrepancy. ESMA also asks whether segregation is effective in law as well as technically implemented; whether client collateral and positions can be ported after a member defaults; and whether a transfer is legally final and irrevocable at the point the CCP treats the collateral as posted.
Liquidity depends on the route from asset to funds
Tokenised securities
For tokenised securities, ESMA asks whether tokenisation affects the time, process, certainty, market liquidity or security of a sale or repo, especially in stress. A bond that is liquid in conventional markets can still encounter token-specific friction if it must be redeemed before use, transfers rely on a particular platform or settlement asset, transferability is restricted, or links to the wider financial system are weak. Those factors could warrant changes to eligibility conditions, haircuts or other safeguards; the call does not establish that any such change is necessary.
Cash-like settlement assets
Tokenised central-bank money, stablecoins, e-money tokens and tokenised deposits raise a distinct issue: whether the asset can legally discharge the obligation and whether the CCP can reliably access the currency it needs. ESMA notes that regulatory and supervisory frameworks do not necessarily treat these instruments as equivalent to cash, and stablecoins may deviate from par. Relevant considerations include redemption rights, issuer credit, conversion arrangements and the robustness of the supporting infrastructure.
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Possible system-wide liquidity effects
Faster settlement, automation, programmability and continuous processing could improve efficiency. They could also leave participants less time to source collateral and increase intraday liquidity needs. If automated triggers cause many participants to call for or transfer the same assets at once, they could amplify demand for particular collateral or funding sources in stress. ESMA presents these as issues to assess, not as quantified effects already demonstrated.
Resilience means more than ledger uptime
ESMA’s resilience questions extend to continuity of margin collection, collateral management, payments and default management. The authority asks about governance, information and communications technology (ICT) and cyber risks, external-provider dependencies, recovery and fallback arrangements, testing, and scenario analysis.
For a CCP, the relevant question is not only whether a ledger stays online. It is whether the entire chain—including platforms, custodians, settlement assets and other critical providers—can keep functioning or recover in an extreme but plausible disruption. ESMA is seeking views on which dependencies should be considered critical and what assurance and testing should precede broader reliance on tokenised arrangements.
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The call is an evidence-gathering exercise, not a final rule or a finding that tokenised collateral can or cannot be cashed out successfully. ESMA’s 9 October 2026 press release and call report no measured conversion times, crisis cash-out success rates, liquidity outcomes or haircut effects. The result will depend on the specific asset and arrangement: the legal rights involved, the controlling record, the currency required, the transfer and settlement path, and the role of platforms, custodians, issuers and redemption or repo mechanisms.
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ESMA also says that, in finalising the call and based on work through EMIR CCP supervisory colleges, HQLAᵡ was the only project in central clearing it had seen. That is a bounded statement about the projects visible to ESMA in that context; it does not mean it was the only tokenisation project across financial markets.
How to respond and what happens next
Stakeholders can submit responses online to ESMA by 15 January 2027. ESMA says it will assess the feedback in Q1 2027 and then determine whether a course of action is appropriate, potentially including regulatory or supervisory convergence action within its remit. Responses are to be published after the call closes unless a respondent requests otherwise.
ESMA Chair Verena Ross said tokenisation has the potential to make European financial markets more efficient, integrated and innovative, while stressing the need for safe operation at scale across borders, legal certainty, interoperable infrastructure and appropriate supervision. Klaus Löber, chair of ESMA’s CCP Supervisory Committee, said collateral must be high quality, legally enforceable, highly liquid and operationally available, including in stressed conditions and after a clearing-member default.
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