SWIFT, the worldwide monetary messaging community serving over 11,000 establishments worldwide, has launched a groundbreaking pilot program to check blockchain-based funds utilizing Ethereum’s Layer 2 answer Linea. The initiative, which started round September 26-28, 2025, represents a big shift from SWIFT’s conventional messaging-only function towards direct on-chain settlement capabilities.
Main monetary establishments together with BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon are collaborating on this pilot program alongside greater than a dozen different banks. The collaboration goals to mix fee directions and settlement right into a single on-chain transaction, doubtlessly revolutionizing the velocity and effectivity of cross-border funds whereas lowering reliance on intermediaries.
The pilot program explores the combination of stablecoins and the event of an “interbank token” that would remodel SWIFT from a messaging service right into a direct value-transfer platform. This technological transformation comes because the stablecoin market exceeds $230 billion and tokenized property are projected to achieve $16 trillion by 2030.
SWIFT’s Blockchain Evolution
SWIFT’s entry into blockchain expertise builds upon earlier experiments, together with trials of tokenized asset transfers throughout private and non-private blockchains performed in August 2023. These earlier checks demonstrated the potential to scale back friction in tokenized asset markets and allow them to scale as they mature.
The present pilot represents a extra bold enterprise, specializing in real-time settlement somewhat than simply messaging. An unnamed supply described the hassle as a “technological transformation” for the worldwide interbank funds business, emphasizing its potential to reshape world fee infrastructure.
Tom Zschach, SWIFT’s chief innovation officer, has acknowledged the challenges forward, notably concerning authorized alignment between blockchain confirmations and conventional authorized finality fashions. The necessity for jurisdictional readability stays essential to make sure on-chain settlements are acknowledged in court docket programs worldwide.
The pilot program will take a number of months to materialize totally, however early indicators recommend vital potential for enhancing transaction velocity, transparency, and programmability in fee processing. SWIFT’s huge community of monetary establishments positions it uniquely to drive mainstream adoption of blockchain expertise in conventional banking.
Linea Community’s Position
SWIFT chosen Linea after months of negotiations to make sure the Layer 2 answer may substitute present centralized infrastructure. Linea, developed by ConsenSys, was chosen for its zk-rollup expertise, which provides low-cost, high-throughput transactions whereas sustaining Ethereum’s safety requirements.
The platform’s emphasis on privateness by way of superior cryptographic proofs aligns completely with banks’ regulatory compliance wants. Zero-knowledge proofs be sure that delicate buyer knowledge stays safe throughout testing, addressing main considerations for monetary establishments working below strict privateness rules.
Linea’s compatibility with Ethereum’s ecosystem supplies further benefits, together with entry to decentralized finance protocols and good contract performance. The community’s give attention to transaction privateness makes it notably appropriate for institutional use instances the place confidentiality is paramount.
Market reactions to the SWIFT collaboration have been notably optimistic. Linea’s native token surged 15% inside hours of the announcement, signaling sturdy investor confidence in blockchain’s rising function in world finance and the potential for widespread adoption.
Market Influence and Future Implications
The SWIFT-Linea collaboration comes at a pivotal second for digital asset adoption, coinciding with the U.S. passing its first federal stablecoin legislation in July 2025. This regulatory milestone has inspired banks to discover their very own tokenized options and blockchain integrations.
Key advantages of the blockchain integration embody:
- Actual-time cross-border fee settlement
- Lowered transaction prices by way of fewer intermediaries
- Enhanced transparency and monitoring capabilities
- Programmable fee performance through good contracts
- Improved operational effectivity throughout monetary networks
The pilot’s success may speed up the adoption of blockchain expertise throughout conventional banking programs. As regulatory frameworks proceed to evolve globally, monetary establishments are more and more viewing blockchain integration as important for sustaining aggressive benefits.
Business specialists consider this initiative alerts a shift towards hybrid programs the place blockchain and legacy fee rails coexist. Such integration may doubtlessly compete with present blockchain fee networks like Ripple, providing established establishments a pathway to modernize their infrastructure.
The broader implications prolong past SWIFT’s community, doubtlessly influencing how central banks method digital forex growth and the way business banks construction their blockchain methods. The undertaking aligns with rising institutional curiosity in tokenized property and the increasing function of stablecoins in world commerce.
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The SWIFT-Linea pilot represents a watershed second for cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption in conventional finance. Because the undertaking progresses over the approaching months, its outcomes will doubtless affect regulatory selections, institutional blockchain methods, and the broader trajectory of digital asset integration in world fee programs, doubtlessly accelerating the transformation of worldwide monetary infrastructure.
- Layer 2
- A secondary blockchain protocol constructed on prime of an present blockchain to enhance scalability and cut back transaction prices. Layer 2 options course of transactions off the primary blockchain whereas sustaining safety by way of the underlying community.
- zk-rollup
- A kind of Layer 2 scaling answer that makes use of zero-knowledge proofs to bundle a number of transactions collectively. This expertise permits quicker and cheaper transactions whereas sustaining the safety ensures of the primary blockchain.
- Stablecoin
- A kind of cryptocurrency designed to take care of secure worth by pegging to a reserve asset just like the US greenback. Stablecoins present the advantages of digital forex whereas minimizing value volatility that characterizes different cryptocurrencies.
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Superior cryptographic strategies that enable one social gathering to show they possess sure data with out revealing the knowledge itself. This expertise permits privacy-preserving transactions and computations on blockchain networks.
- Tokenized property
- Conventional monetary devices or real-world property which have been transformed into digital tokens on a blockchain. This course of permits fractional possession, improved liquidity, and programmable options for numerous asset courses.
