Overview

• Swift announced the initiative at the Sibos conference in Frankfurt, outlining a shift from messaging-only services toward operating a shared ledger.
• Consensys is building a conceptual prototype for a secure ledger that records, sequences and validates transactions and enforces rules via smart contracts, with support for tokenized value.
• Design priorities include interoperability with existing fiat rails as well as public and private DLTs, stablecoins and potential CBDCs, with Swift maintaining a neutral infrastructure role.
• More than 30 institutions are participating, with reported names including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Santander, NatWest, Wells Fargo and Emirates NBD.
• Swift has not set a production timeline, and reports note the underlying chain is unspecified, with coverage indicating no confirmation on Ethereum mainnet versus Consensys’ Linea as legal, governance and compliance questions are addressed.