SWIFT officially moves into blockchain settlement: MVP to launch within the year, and the $1.83 trillion market could be reshaped

Gate News updates: Global financial messaging network SWIFT is accelerating its push to build blockchain settlement infrastructure. The organization has confirmed that its shared-ledger system is under development for its first minimum viable product (MVP), with plans to go live on real transactions later in 2026. This development signals that the traditional financial system is gradually transitioning toward an on-chain settlement model.

According to disclosures, this shared ledger is not a public blockchain, but a permissioned network built on Linea. Linea is developed by ConsenSys and is part of an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution. The system records, orders, and validates transactions through smart contracts, enabling tokenized deposits, regulated stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies to move near real-time between institutions.

In terms of its functional positioning, this ledger does not rely on a native token and will not replace the existing SWIFT messaging system. Instead, it will operate as a parallel channel. Financial institutions can access blockchain settlement capabilities without having to overhaul internal systems or compliance processes—this “low-cost, low-disruption integration” is its core selling point.

The project’s design phase has already attracted more than 30 global large banks, including JPMorgan, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America, among others. All parties have jointly contributed to defining the system architecture, governance mechanisms, and future expansion roadmap, improving the方案’s prospects for real-world rollout.

The core problem SWIFT is trying to solve is that traditional cross-border payments are inefficient. The current setup relies on multiple layers of correspondent banks, resulting in long settlement cycles, high costs, and poor information transparency. By integrating message transmission and funds settlement into the same layer, this blockchain ledger is expected to significantly shorten settlement times and reduce reconciliation and liquidity management costs.

In the global cross-border payments market of about $1.83 quadrillion per year, this shift could have far-reaching implications. If the MVP is successfully implemented, blockchain could evolve from an edge technology into an important component of traditional financial infrastructure.