Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Swift Launches Blockchain Ledger Prototype With RBC and TD
Blockchain | Sep 29, 2025
RBC and TD Join 30 Global Banks For Swift's Cross-border Payments Test
On September 29, 2025, Swift announced its blockchain-based ledger at Sibos 2025. The initiative brings together more than 30 financial institutions worldwide, including Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank, to design and test a prototype with Consensys. The project is aimed at enabling real time, 24/7 cross-border payments to more than 200 countries and territories.
Javier Pérez-Tasso, Swift CEO:
“We provide powerful and effective rails today and are moving at a rapid pace with our community to create the infrastructure stack of the future. Through this initial ledger concept we are paving the way for financial institutions to take the payments experience to the next level with Swift’s proven and trusted platform at the centre of the industry’s digital transformation.”
Swift's Multiple Blockchain Tracks
Swift’s prototype will provide a secure log of transactions between banks that is updated in real time. The ledger will validate and sequence payments while using smart contracts to enforce agreed rules automatically. Unlike a public blockchain, this shared ledger is a permissioned infrastructure operated by Swift and its member banks. While it's blockchain-based in design, drawing on distributed ledger technology for resilience and transparency, it's not an onchain network like Ethereum.
See: Citi and BofA Plan Stablecoins as Regulation Advances
Rather than creating new tokens itself, Swift’s role will be to provide the infrastructure for financial institutions and central banks to settle regulated tokenised value. By focusing on interoperability, Swift is designing the ledger so that it can operate alongside both traditional rails and emerging blockchain networks to reduce fragmentation and help financial institutions transition smoothly.
Also as a separate blockchain track, Swift is also experimenting with onchain migration of its messaging system using Ethereum Layer 2 Linea, as reported by The Block, which includes banks such as BNP Paribas and BNY. Swift is undergoing a parallel strategy to both upgrade existing rails while also preparing future digital rails.
Canadian Banks At the Table
The direct participation of RBC and TD gives Canada a seat at the table in Swift's financial infrastructure modernization initiatives. Their involvement means that Canadian banks intend to remain competitive globally as tokenised settlement gains traction. For Canada, the implications could be far reaching, making it easier for businesses to manage international trade and for capital to move efficiently across borders.
Tokenised Payments Outlook
Swift’s work comes at a time when market forecasts suggest rapid growth in tokenised payments. Citi’s GPS report on stablecoins 2030 projects that stablecoin issuance could reach $1.9 trillion under a base case and as high as $4 trillion in a bull case by 2030, with transaction volumes approaching $100 trillion if stablecoins circulate at payment velocity.
See: VersaBank USA Launches Tokenized Deposits Pilot
The report also says stablecoins will likely coexist with tokenised deposits and bank-issued tokens, which may surpass them in scale.The question is whether Swift’s infrastructure approach will become the primary neutral rails that digital assets need to move securely across borders, or not.
Conclusion
After years of blockchain push-back denial, the launch of Swift’s blockchain ledger prototype is a key milestone in the modernization of global financial infrastructure. With RBC and TD among the participants, Canada is positioned within the group to contribute to the design and development of standards from the start. Digital assets and traditional financial networks seem to be converging at a global scale.
Other reads you may like:
- Canada's Stablecoin Race Enters Critical Phase
- Swiss digital franc tokenized bond pilot deemed a success
- Swift and Wise Announce Strategic Collaboration at Sibos 2023 in Toronto
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