The platform will leverage smart contracts to record, verify, and order transactions, enabling instant and cheaper settlements. It is designed with a focus on compatibility with regulated tokenized assets, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and CBDCs, allowing SWIFT to retain its key role in global financial infrastructure.

The official press release did not disclose technical details of the partnership, but earlier reports suggested that SWIFT has been experimenting with moving its infrastructure on-chain using ConsenSys’ Linea L2 solution.

SWIFT CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso said that the new ledger architecture “paves the way” for the next level of digital payments and will become the core of the industry’s transformation. The company emphasized that its key advantage remains its global network of more than 11,000 banks in 200 countries, processing trillions of dollars in transactions daily.

Competition with Stablecoins

The SWIFT initiative comes amid the rapid growth of the stablecoin market, whose total volume has surpassed $300 billion. According to Citi, by 2030 stablecoins in circulation could reach $4 trillion, with annual transactions exceeding $100 trillion. This poses a direct challenge to SWIFT’s traditional model, as users can transfer funds directly without intermediaries, as reported by the FT.

European regulators are also paying closer attention to digital currencies. ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane previously noted that Europe needs a digital euro to reduce the risk of foreign-denominated stablecoins dominating the eurozone and to lessen dependence on U.S. payment firms. In September, nine major European banks announced the launch of a euro-denominated stablecoin.

JPMorgan and Local Blockchain Solutions

In parallel, banks are developing and testing their own platforms. For example, in Qatar, Qatar National Bank in partnership with JPMorgan has implemented the Kinexys system for corporate payments. It enables cross-border transfers within two minutes, with a daily transaction volume of $3 billion out of JPMorgan’s global $10 trillion payments flow.