Market tone: Neutral
Kaye Quema · Crypto Briefing · 2026-10-09T11:04:41.000Z
The EU markets watchdog has opened a call for evidence on whether digital twins of eligible collateral can be moved and liquidated when markets break down
Europe’s top markets regulator wants to know whether tokenized collateral can survive a bad day. On October 9, 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) opened a Call for Evidence on how EU central counterparties might use tokenized versions of assets they already accept.
What ESMA is actually asking
The review sits under EMIR, the European Market Infrastructure Regulation. That is the rulebook governing how derivatives clearing works across the bloc.
A central counterparty, or CCP, acts as the middleman that stands between two sides of a trade. Collateral is the security deposit each side posts so the CCP is covered if someone fails to pay. If a member defaults, the CCP needs to turn that collateral into cash quickly and without legal drama.
ESMA’s focus is on what it calls digital twins. These are tokenized versions of collateral that is already eligible under existing rules. The regulator is not looking at new asset classes, only at putting familiar assets on new rails.
The Call for Evidence covers several risk categories:
Legal enforceability: whether a token gives a CCP a clean, defensible claim to the underlying asset.
Liquidity: whether tokenized collateral can be sold or converted under stressed conditions.
Operational risk: what can go wrong when distributed ledger technology (DLT) interacts with clearing systems.
Client protection and settlement finality: whether customer assets stay protected and whether a completed transfer is truly irreversible.
ESMA also wants feedback on whether current EMIR safeguards are enough for DLT interactions.
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Stakeholders have until January 15, 2027, to respond. ESMA plans to assess the answers in the first quarter of 2027, then decide whether additional regulatory measures are necessary.
Who is steering this
Klaus Löber, Chair of ESMA’s CCP Supervisory Committee, and Verena Ross, ESMA Chair, have both stressed that collateral needs to be high quality, legally enforceable and liquid. They have put particular weight on how it behaves during market stress.
ESMA has also named tokenization a supervisory priority starting in 2027.
The market is still small
ESMA identified just one CCP-related tokenization initiative: Eurex Clearing’s DLT-based collateral mobilization service, launched in June 2025.
The consultation also lands alongside other European work on tokenized settlement. The Eurosystem launched its Pontes project in September 2026, aimed at settling tokenized assets using central bank money.
What this means for clearing, banks and digital asset firms
Because ESMA is limiting the review to tokenized versions of already eligible assets, this is not a back door for crypto-native tokens to become clearing collateral. It is about putting existing assets on new technology, not expanding what counts as acceptable collateral.
The key dates are now set. Responses close January 15, 2027, ESMA’s assessment follows in the first quarter of 2027, and tokenization becomes a formal supervisory priority that same year.
Originally published by Crypto Briefing.