Stablecoins must not replace central bank money, Nødgaard warns
Danmarks Nationalbank Governor Ulrik Nødgaard addressed Nordic Fintech Week on September 24, 2026, noting that stablecoins cannot substitute central bank money in wholesale settlement despite expanding cross-border payment use cases.
Settling tokenised assets with Pontes
Danmarks Nationalbank has partnered with the European Central Bank (ECB) to safeguard interbank access to central bank money within emerging distributed ledger technology (DLT) systems.
On September 21, 2026, the institutions launched Pontes, a technical bridge connecting commercial DLT platforms with tokenised assets and the Eurosystem's Target Services.
This mechanism enables tokenised securities transactions to settle directly in central bank money.
Governor Ulrik Nødgaard noted that stablecoin adoption in Europe remains concentrated in crypto trading rather than mainstream commerce, reaffirming that private tokens must not replace central bank money in wholesale markets.
Technology neutrality and commercial exploration
Nødgaard highlighted that several Danish commercial banks are already experimenting with tokenisation and DLT infrastructure to assess its potential efficiency gains.
The central bank maintains a technology-neutral stance toward new forms of digital payment but monitors stablecoins closely due to their long-term implications for monetary policy transmission, cross-border payment efficiency and banking sector intermediation.
Central bank money remains essential to anchor institutional confidence.
Defending wholesale turf against crypto creep
The central bank is acting swiftly to prevent private tokens from encroaching on wholesale settlement.
Launching Pontes gives lenders a regulated DLT bridge that makes private stablecoins largely redundant for institutional trading.
This strategy effectively secures central bank sovereignty while accommodating market modernisation.