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Swift’s New Project ‘Connecting Digital Islands’: Streamlining Cross-Ledger Settlements to Enhance RWA Interaction Experience

Swift Launches New Project to Connect Digital Islands in the Cryptocurrency Space

In a bid to optimize global transactions and facilitate users in processing traditional and digital asset transactions, Swift announced a new project on September 11. This initiative aims to test the simultaneous delivery versus payment (DvP) and payment versus payment (PvP) across multiple ledgers, focusing on the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). According to Standard Chartered Bank, the RWA market value could reach $30 trillion by 2034.

Challenges in Bridging the Digital Divide

Swift recognizes that before digital assets and cryptocurrencies can achieve widespread global adoption, the industry must overcome differences in platforms, technologies, and regulatory environments. These disparities have resulted in various RWA projects becoming “digital islands,” impeding further business expansion and increasing transaction costs and risks. The lack of globally recognized digital currency forms is a significant contributing factor to this challenge.

Exploring the Landscape of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

According to recent data from the Atlantic Council, over 130 countries and currency alliances worldwide are exploring the potential of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). However, the integration of these emerging currencies into the broader global economy requires substantial work. Swift’s initiative will initially involve testing with fiat currencies, gradually incorporating central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenized commercial bank currencies, and regulated stablecoins. Additionally, Swift is exploring how to integrate different digital assets with banking networks to address interoperability issues.

Enabling Collaboration for Future Payments and Investments

Tom Zschach, Swift’s Innovation Director, emphasized the transformative potential of digital currencies and tokens in reshaping future payment and investment models, contingent upon the ability of different digital solutions to collaborate effectively. Notably, Swift has successfully conducted value transfers related to RWA and highlighted two CBDC sandbox tests involving banks from Europe, Asia, and North America, primarily utilizing smart contracts and event-driven programming for automated payments.

Building a Unified Payment Infrastructure for Tokenized Assets

Swift’s new endeavor to provide a single payment infrastructure for tokenized assets aims to address integration challenges between digital assets and banking networks. The use of varying distributed ledger technologies by financial institutions exploring RWA poses barriers to global interoperability, compounded by regulatory disparities, presenting additional hurdles. Swift’s efforts in completing trade, securities, and foreign exchange sandbox experiments are crucial in overcoming these obstacles and fostering greater collaboration in the digital space.

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