The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced the Appia roadmap, aiming to unify Europe's fragmented tokenized capital markets by 2028. ECB Executive Board Member Piero Cipollone outlined the initiative during a speech in Brussels, highlighting the transition from exploration to production in digital markets. Since 2021, European issuers have placed nearly €4 billion in distributed ledger technology (DLT) instruments.A key component of this initiative is the Pontes settlement anchor, set to launch in the third quarter of 2026, which will enable central bank money settlement on DLT platforms. Recent trials involving 64 participants across nine jurisdictions processed approximately €1.6 billion in transactions, testing interoperability solutions. The ECB will also begin accepting DLT-based assets as eligible collateral for credit operations starting March 2026. Cipollone emphasized the need for a public-private partnership and a cohesive legal framework to support this technological advancement.