SWIFT to Trial Digital Asset Transactions in 2025

In 2025, banks in North America, Europe, and Asia will start trials using SWIFT’s platform to settle digital assets and currencies. This connects traditional banks with digital assets using the world’s largest payments network, advancing global financial infrastructure.

What's the Scoop?

• What is SWIFT: SWIFT, the largest global payments network, is operated by financial institutions and G10 central banks. It facilitates most international money and securities transfers, linking over 11K financial institutions across 200+ countries and territories, and has been used to impose sanctions on Russia and Iran.
• Interlinking Blockchains: Trials will demonstrate how SWIFT connects public and private blockchains, testing out transfers of tokenized assets like FX, payments, and securities.  
• Previous Experiments with Ethereum and Chainlink: SWIFT previously collaborated with major financial institutions and used Chainlink to securely connect to the Ethereum Sepolia network, exploring interoperability between public and private blockchains.

Bankless Take:

As the largest system for international payments, SWIFT’s trials, if successful, may be the watershed moment for tokenization on public blockchains becoming a central feature in existing financial systems. With their previous experiments using Ethereum and Chainlink characterized as a success, SWIFT looks to be focused on positioning itself as a gateway to the world of blockchains, both private and public. As SWIFT’s trials move forward, the real test will be ensuring secure and efficient integration of blockchains with existing financial rails in the world’s most relied-upon payment network, something which the outcomes of Visa’s tokenization efforts may serve as additional data points for.