SWIFT, the global financial messaging cooperative, has mobilized a consortium including BNY Mellon and BNP Paribas for a pivotal experiment to migrate its core messaging system onto Consensys' Ethereum layer-2, Linea. According to a September 26, 2025 report from The Big Whale, this multi-month project involves over a dozen major institutions and is seen as a precursor to a significant technological transformation for interbank payments.
The selection of Linea was driven by its focus on privacy through advanced cryptographic proofs, specifically zkEVM technology, which meets strict bank compliance standards. This initiative follows SWIFT's 2023 tokenization trials and supports digital asset tests planned for 2025, aiming to achieve faster settlement, lower costs, and a stronger cross-border payment infrastructure. SWIFT's current system, which links over 11,000 institutions, has been criticized as slow and costly; a successful blockchain integration could address these issues by combining messaging and settlement in one transaction.
This move positions SWIFT against Ripple, which has long offered blockchain-based cross-border payments. The pilot includes exploring an interbank settlement token similar to a stablecoin, expanding beyond messaging to value transfer and intensifying competition in the blockchain payments space. The outcome could redefine global payment rails, with SWIFT leveraging its established network to build a modernized system.