Global banks join SWIFT in blockchain test run on Consensys’ Linea

SWIFT has reportedly mobilized a consortium including BNY Mellon and BNP Paribas for a pivotal experiment that includes migrating its core messaging system onto ConsenSys’ Ethereum layer-2, Linea.

According to a Sept. 26 report from The Big Whale, the global financial messaging cooperative has initiated a development project with more than a dozen major institutions to experiment with putting its foundational messaging framework on-chain.

A source within a participating bank indicated the project is a multi-month endeavor, characterizing it as a precursor to a significant technological transformation for the interbank payments industry.

The selection of ConsenSys’ Linea was reportedly driven by its emphasis on privacy through advanced cryptographic proofs, a feature deemed critical for meeting stringent bank compliance standards.

SWIFT’s blockchain path was years in the making

Last year, SWIFT announced that live trials for digital asset and currency transactions across its network were slated for 2025. The current project with Linea appears to be the foundational technical work necessary to make those live trials feasible, moving the cooperative beyond theoretical research and into practical implementation.

Before this announcement, SWIFT published results from a series of trials that tested the movement of tokenized assets across both public and private blockchains. SWIFT’s research demonstrated that its existing secure messaging infrastructure could potentially function as a universal “interoperability layer,” connecting different distributed ledger technologies without requiring banks to undertake massive and costly systems integrations with each new platform.

The Linea project takes this concept a step further, exploring what happens when SWIFT’s own messaging core is migrated on-chain, potentially creating a more native and efficient settlement layer.

For banks, the implications are significant. SWIFT’s system links more than 11,000 institutions, yet it has long been criticized as cumbersome and overly dependent on intermediaries. A successful blockchain integration could mean faster settlement times, reduced costs, and a more resilient architecture for cross-border payments.