DELPHI DLT Use Case Pilot

Vienna, September 2026.

Erste Group Bank AG, Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI), and OeKB CSD have launched the DELPHI DLT Use Case Pilot as part of the DELPHI initiative. The pilot aims to test concrete use cases for the settlement of digital securities using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), leveraging the Eurosystem's DLT settlement solution Pontes and working together with SWIAT as technology and infrastructure partner.

The pilot is designed to assess whether the use cases and value-added services jointly defined by the DELPHI team can generate tangible business value, be technically integrated into existing market infrastructures, and be operated efficiently and cost-effectively within a common operating model. In addition, the initiative seeks to further develop potential business strategies for the future adoption of DLT-based capital market infrastructures.

Practical Testing for the Next Stage of Digital Capital Markets

With the DELPHI DLT Use Case Pilot, the participating institutions are taking the next step in exploring the practical potential of Distributed Ledger Technology within a regulated capital markets environment. The focus is on understanding how digital representations of traditional financial instruments can be issued, traded, and settled in a secure, efficient, and interoperable manner while remaining fully connected to existing market infrastructures.

The pilot will take into account key European developments, particularly the approaches being developed by the Eurosystem through the Pontes and Appia initiatives regarding interoperability, governance, and settlement. It will also consider upcoming regulatory developments in market infrastructure and supervision, including initiatives related to the Market Integration and Supervision Package, the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) and the DLT Pilot Regime.

About the DELPHI Initiative

The DELPHI Initiative (Delivery versus Payment Hybrid Initiative) was founded in 2020 by Erste Group Bank AG, OeKB CSD GmbH, the Austrian Federal Financing Agency (OeBFA), the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), and Raiffeisen Bank International AG.

Its objective is to analyze the potential applications and benefits of Distributed Ledger Technology for the issuance, trading, and settlement of tokenized representations of traditional financial instruments.

Over the past several years, the initiative has examined legal, technological, and business-related considerations, with a particular focus on identifying potential advantages compared to conventional market processes. Following an extensive phase of market analysis and observation, Erste Group, RBI, and OeKB CSD decided in 2026 to jointly launch the DELPHI DLT Use Case Pilot connected to the Pontes ecosystem.

Market Developments Driving the Pilot

Several important European market developments have paved the way for the launch of the DELPHI DLT Use Case Pilot. European capital markets are increasingly evolving from isolated DLT experiments toward regulated infrastructure solutions. The Eurosystem is currently developing Pontes, a solution designed to enable the settlement of DLT-based transactions in central bank money, with deployment targeted for the end of the third quarter of 2026. In parallel, the Appia initiative is addressing the longer-term vision of an integrated European DLT ecosystem for tokenized assets.

At the same time, enhancements to the CSD-Regulation (CSDR) and the DLT Pilot Regime, ongoing developments in market infrastructure and supervisory regulation, and pioneering national initiatives in the digital securities space are creating the conditions for deeper integration of tokenized financial instruments into regulated market processes.

Tokenization is particularly relevant because it goes beyond simply digitizing existing securities. It has the potential to fundamentally improve issuance, custody, transfer, settlement, and asset servicing processes by making them more efficient, highly automated, and interoperable across infrastructures.

International market studies reinforce this trend. According to Citi, the market for tokenized assets could grow to approximately USD 5.5 trillion by 2030.

The DELPHI approach is based on a model in which existing securities holdings are tokenized. Investors continue to hold economically equivalent securities under the same ISINs with the same investor rights, while the technological representation and potential settlement logic are enhanced and tested on DLT-based infrastructure.