ESMA Opens Evidence Call on Tokenised Collateral in Central Clearing

ESMA Opens Evidence Call on Tokenised Collateral in Central Clearing

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has opened a call for evidence on whether and under what conditions EU central counterparties (CCPs) could use tokenised collateral safely and effectively. Responses are due 15 January 2027. This is a request for evidence, not a new rule or an approval for CCPs to accept tokenised assets.

ESMA’s scope spans the collateral lifecycle: transfer, management, protection and use. It asks stakeholders to consider tokenised versions of assets already held in traditional infrastructure (sometimes described as “digital twins”), assets issued directly on distributed ledger technology (DLT), and hybrid arrangements. It also asks how these models interact with tokenised cash and other settlement assets.

The central operational question is what happens under stress, especially if a clearing member defaults. A CCP needs to know whether it can access collateral, transfer it and convert it into liquidity when required. ESMA also highlights client protection and segregation, settlement finality, and the interaction between DLT networks and traditional market infrastructure.

Primary sources: ESMA’s announcement and the call for evidence.

What fund managers and issuers should examine

The consultation is addressed first to CCPs, clearing members and their clients, market infrastructures, custodians, triparty agents and tokenisation providers. Fund managers and asset issuers may still be affected through collateral eligibility, liquidity management, custody arrangements and the ability to mobilise assets across venues.

For a tokenised fund or security that could become collateral, map the operational chain before making claims about faster or more portable collateral:

• Rights and records: Which legal record governs ownership and client segregation? How does it reconcile with the token ledger?
• Control under default: Who can access, transfer or liquidate the asset, and under which legal authority?
• Liquidity path: Which counterparties and settlement assets are available to turn collateral into usable cash, including outside normal operating hours?
• Interoperability: What happens when a DLT venue must interact with a conventional custodian, CSD, payment rail or CCP system?
• Failure handling: How are key loss, network outage, delayed finality, fork, correction and dispute scenarios managed?

These are diligence questions, not conclusions about what ESMA will require. The regulator says it will assess feedback in the first quarter of 2027 and then determine any appropriate regulatory or supervisory action.

For managers planning tokenised issuance, the evidence call is a useful prompt to test whether custody, transfer controls, collateral operations and exit arrangements work together. Fundshing’s tokenization solutions describe infrastructure options across the asset lifecycle. See also our settlement and resilience readiness checklist.

Educational information only; not legal, tax or investment advice, and not an offer to invest. The consultation concerns CCP use of collateral and does not itself change applicable law or establish that a particular tokenised asset is eligible. Participants should consult the official ESMA documents and qualified advisers.