Swift has made its blockchain-based ledger ready for initial use, moving the project announced in 2025 into a controlled go-live phase after nine months of development. Seventeen banks across six continents are preparing to pilot live cross-border transactions using bank-issued tokenised deposits, supporting customer payments overnight and on weekends while retaining existing compliance, credit, risk and control standards. The ledger acts as a shared orchestration layer connecting tokenised deposits held on participating banks’ own ledgers. It enables 24/7 fund movement and more efficient liquidity management, while final settlement continues through existing systems. Swift plans to expand the ledger’s functionality and availability after the initial phase, creating infrastructure that could later support applications such as programmable money and agentic commerce.
Swift makes blockchain-based ledger ready for initial use as 17 banks prepare tokenised deposit pilots
Swift has made its blockchain-based ledger ready for initial use, with 17 banks preparing live cross-border payment pilots using tokenised deposits. The ledger supports 24/7 fund movement as an orchestration layer, while final settlement remains on existing systems. Its functionality and availability will expand after the controlled go-live phase.