🌉 Chainlink Bridges Blockchain Technology with Banking Networks
Chainlink, a leading blockchain oracle provider, announced a pilot integration with UBS Asset Management and the global financial messaging network SWIFT. This allows banks to conduct on-chain transactions using their existing infrastructure.
The integration uses the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) to connect SWIFT messaging rails directly to blockchains. This ensures interoperability, allowing financial institutions to automate blockchain interactions without replacing current payment systems.
Chainlink emphasizes that this approach provides “last-mile connectivity” for banks and service providers, streamlining operations while retaining familiar infrastructure.
🛡 Project Guardian: Connecting Traditional Money and Tokenized Assets
The initiative is part of Project Guardian, a 2024 pilot with Chainlink, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and UBS Tokenize.
The pilot demonstrated that tokenized fund workflows can integrate with traditional fiat payment systems. By adopting SWIFT’s ISO 20022 messaging standard, banks could execute fund subscriptions and redemptions on-chain, cutting out lengthy intermediary chains such as custodians, transfer agents, and fund administrators.
This results in real-time, on-chain settlements while continuing to use existing bank infrastructure, reducing delays and reconciliation issues.
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🏦 SWIFT and Blockchain Innovation
SWIFT, a Belgium-based cooperative operating since the 1970s, manages a global messaging system that underpins cross-border payments. The organization has been exploring blockchain technology to enhance financial messaging efficiency.
Since 2023, SWIFT has partnered with Chainlink on pilot projects. In 2024, it joined BIS and 41 private financial institutions to test tokenized commercial bank deposits alongside wholesale CBDCs in a shared environment.
Earlier in 2024, SWIFT introduced a “state machine” powered by blockchain to track transactions and balances using ISO 20022 messaging, capable of running on-chain or on SWIFT’s Transaction Manager centralized platform.
Currently, SWIFT is also collaborating with Consensys and over 30 financial institutions to create a blockchain settlement system for 24/7, real-time cross-border payments, showcasing the rapid convergence of traditional finance and decentralized technology.
