Swift’s new blockchain-based ledger could enable banks to transfer tokenized deposits across borders around the clock, but institutions cannot connect to it without building or adopting several digital-asset capabilities of their own, according to Lamine Brahimi, co-founder and managing partner of custody and tokenization company Taurus.
The infrastructure banks need
Brahimi said banks seeking to connect to Swift’s ledger require three main components: a permissioned ledger that can interact with Swift’s system, digital-asset wallet capabilities, and software for tokenization and smart contracts.
A permissioned ledger is a restricted blockchain environment in which participation is limited to approved institutions. Wallet tools allow institutions to hold and manage digital assets, while tokenization systems represent assets or deposits in digital form. Smart contracts are automated programs that can execute agreed instructions within the network.
These systems are needed because Swift’s ledger is not designed to replace a bank’s internal technology. Instead, it acts as an orchestration layer connecting institutions and helping coordinate transactions involving tokenized deposits. Final settlement can continue through existing arrangements, while banks retain systems to issue, hold and manage their deposits.
Taurus recently announced its own Swift integration in August. Brahimi said the firm offers the three required layers through one platform: a permissioned ledger, wallet-management tools, and tokenization and smart-contract software. Other providers may require banks to combine services from several vendors, he said.
Live transactions move beyond testing
Swift’s ledger is intended to support cross-border transfers of tokenized bank deposits at any time, including outside traditional banking hours. According to CoinDesk, HSBC and Standard Chartered completed the first live interbank transaction using the system in August.
DBS and Citi later carried out a cross-border dollar payment over a weekend that settled in minutes rather than taking as long as two business days. The transactions demonstrate the potential for tokenized deposits to move more quickly across jurisdictions while banks continue using established settlement infrastructure.
Swift said in July that 17 banks were preparing live transactions involving tokenized deposits. The initiative represents an important step in the organization’s effort to modernize a messaging network that has been central to traditional finance since the 1970s. Swift currently supports money movements of up to $1.5 quadrillion a year, according to the source material.
The requirement for additional infrastructure does not necessarily create a major obstacle for banks that already issue or manage digital assets. Brahimi also said he did not expect the need for these systems to prevent Swift from maintaining its leading position in the sector.
Why tokenized deposits remain institutional
Tokenized deposits are digital representations of deposits held with banks. Unlike stablecoins issued outside the banking system, Swift’s model keeps the underlying deposits on banks’ balance sheets.
Banks have operated internal tokenized-deposit systems for years, but transfers between institutions require compatible technology and shared standards on both sides. That interoperability challenge has limited the use of tokenized deposits largely to major institutions with the resources and international scale to build their own systems.
Brahimi said tokenized deposits had been used only sparingly before Swift’s announcement, with large banks such as JPMorgan among the principal users. Swift’s ledger could provide a standardized connection between banks, allowing institutions to offer payments that operate continuously without discarding their existing systems.
He described the need for additional infrastructure as a characteristic of the ledger’s early stage rather than a design weakness. The system gives banks a choice between established payment rails and tokenized deposits that can move around the clock, he said.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at the stated times showed mixed performance among the listed digital assets on October 8, 2026:
- Lighter (LIT) was trading at $3.581654343, down 1.16% over 24 hours and 9.31% over seven days, as of 10:28 a.m. +03:30.
- dogwifhat (WIF) stood at $0.2253840019, down 2.76% over 24 hours and 7.76% over seven days, as of 10:29 a.m. +03:30.
- OriginTrail (TRAC) was at $0.4028832721, up 0.70% over 24 hours but down 13.36% over seven days, as of 10:28 a.m. +03:30.
- Cap (CAP) traded at $0.0720400757, down 16.79% over 24 hours and 2.11% over seven days, as of 10:29 a.m. +03:30.
These market prices concern separate digital assets and do not measure activity on Swift’s ledger or the value of tokenized deposits moving through it.
