That is encouraging

SWIFT has announced it will add a blockchain-based shared ledger to its core technology infrastructure — a seismic shift for the global payments network that connects over 11,000 financial institutions across more than 200 countries.
The announcement came at Sibos 2025 in Frankfurt, where SWIFT CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso told attendees the network is ready to bridge traditional finance and decentralised technology. According to SWIFT's official announcement, the ledger will enable real-time, always-on transactions and is being developed alongside more than 30 global financial institutions from 16 countries.
The Ledger That Changes Everything
The blockchain-based shared ledger will record, sequence, and validate transactions while enforcing rules through smart contracts. SWIFT is starting with a conceptual prototype built with Consensys, focused squarely on real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments.
"I'm very pleased to announce that we will add a blockchain-based ledger to our technology infrastructure to allow for trusted movement of tokenised value across the digital ecosystems," Pérez-Tasso said, adding that the ledger will be built for interoperability with both existing and emerging networks.
The move positions SWIFT not as a legacy holdout, but as an active builder of the next financial layer. The network's trusted identity, governance, and compliance frameworks will be embedded directly into the ledger from day one — a design choice that separates this from most public blockchain deployments.
HSBC Is in the Room — And So Is Ripple
Here is where it gets more interesting. According to @swiftcommunity on X, HSBC is among the global banks actively collaborating with SWIFT to shape the design of this blockchain ledger for cross-border payments and tokenised value.
HSBC's involvement goes deeper than a design seat at the table. As @ChartNerdTA noted on X:
"HSBC is using Ripple-acquired Metaco's Harmonize platform to provide tokenized securities. HSBC also works on HKMA's Project Ensemble, a field where Ripple is a key technology provider (e-HKD)."
Ripple acquired Metaco — the institutional digital asset custody firm — in 2023. That means HSBC, now a named co-designer of SWIFT's blockchain ledger, already runs infrastructure built on Ripple technology. The overlap is hard to ignore.
XRP's Quiet Footprint in the New SWIFT Stack
XRP and the broader Ripple ecosystem have been positioning for exactly this kind of institutional moment. SWIFT itself has been testing Ripple's XRP Ledger for cross-border payments efficiency, alongside other networks. Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product eliminates the need for banks to pre-fund foreign accounts — a pain point SWIFT's new ledger also aims to address.
With HSBC bridging both ecosystems — holding Metaco's Ripple-built custody infrastructure while helping design SWIFT's new blockchain rails — the XRP network's footprint in the emerging global payments stack grows more visible.
Pérez-Tasso framed it plainly at Sibos:
"You may think, 'Wow, aren't those opposites? Swift and blockchain. TradFi and DeFi. Can they really go together?' In the regulated system of the future, we believe they can. Banks are ready for it."
Over 30 banks are already shaping the ledger's functionality, governance, and future development phases. The first live use case targets instant interbank cross-border settlement — operating continuously, without the multi-day delays that have long defined the legacy correspondent banking model.
3 Key Takeaways:
SWIFT launches blockchain shared ledger for 24/7 cross-border payments at Sibos 2025.HSBC is a named design partner — and already runs Ripple's Metaco Harmonize platform.XRP's role in SWIFT's evolving ecosystem may be larger than it currently appears.
This Article First Appeared on:https://www.cryptonewslive.org/article/swift-goes-blockchain-and-hsbc-is-quietly-bringing-xrp