Banks' SWIFT Messaging System to Experiment With Tokenized Assets in Early 2022
The interbank messaging network's experiments will use central bank digital currencies as well as established forms of payment.
By Jamie Crawley
Updated Mar 1, 2022 at 2:33 p.m. UTC
A European swift (TheOtherKev/Pixabay)
Jamie Crawley
Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.
Follow @JamieCrawleyCD on Twitter
Global interbank messaging network SWIFT plans to explore how it can support interoperability in the tokenized asset market.
SWIFT is planning a series of experiments in the first quarter around improving the exchange of information between the participants and systems that interact during the lifecycle of tokenized assets, according to a Tuesday announcement.
The experiments will use central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as well as established forms of payment.
The organization, which links more than 11,000 institutions, aims to support the issuance, delivery-versus-payment and redemption processes, demonstrating how it could support "a frictionless and seamless tokenized digital asset market."
Following the example of the crypto world, banks and securities firms are offering services whereby fractions of assets are sold as digital tokens to allow for greater liquidity and accessibility.
SWIFT is a global messaging network connecting banks and other financial institutions for cross-border payments. There have been suggestions its usefulness could decline because of the growth in use of digital currency – be it crypto, stablecoins or CBDCs.
Read more: SWIFT Go Launches Low-Cost Network With 7 Major Banks
SWIFTTokenization
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