Swift to launch blockchain-based shared ledger after successful digital asset pilot

Global financial messaging firm Swift is set to launch a blockchain-based shared ledger following a successful digital asset interoperability trial.

The “landmark” trial, which took place in partnership with BNP Paribas Securities Services, Intesa Sanpaolom, and Societe Generale – FORGE, enabled the exchange and settlement of tokenised bonds while supporting payments in both fiat and digital currencies.

The move marks the first time the global financial messaging service has demonstrated its ability to carry out tokenised asset transactions as a single, coordinated process across both blockchain platforms and traditional systems.

The initiative focused on delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement, interest payouts, and redemption of tokenised bonds with roles including paying agent, custodian and registrar.

Following the trial, Swift is deliver a “highly scalable” ledger that will extend its platform into the digital space.

The ledger will initially focus on enabling real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments, designed in collaboration with over 30 banks worldwide.

The company said that adding a ledger to its infrastructure will provide a shared execution layer that “aligns actions, timing and outcomes” between all parties involved in a digital transaction, turning point-to-point connectivity into “execution assurance.”

It described the ledger as the foundation for the “next phase of digital finance”, creating a trust environment where institutions can transact across networks, assets and currencies.

The organisation said that without the ledger, the coordinated execution of digital asset and currency transactions across institutions and platforms “simply is not possible.”

Speaking about the completion of the trial, Thomas Dugauquier, Swift’s tokenised assets product lead, said: “This milestone demonstrates how collaboration and interoperability will shape the future of capital markets. By proving that Swift can orchestrate multi-platform tokenised asset transactions, we’re paving the way for our members to adopt digital asset with confidence, and at scale. It’s about creating a bridge between traditional finance and emerging technologies.”

The trial forms part of a wider series of digital asset and currency use cases that the company has tested.

It has previously worked on bridging tokenised assets with existing payment systems with UBS Asset Management and Chainlink, as well as settling payments between fiat and digital currencies with Citi.

The company has also trialled the exchange of digital asset transactions via a commercial bank account with Northern Trust and the Reserve Bank of Australia and enabled ISO 20022-based blockchain interoperability on its network with HSBC and Ant International.