Bloomberg reports that commercial and central banks will be able to conduct real-life tests of digital asset transactions in the SWIFT interbank information and payment system network starting next year.
The organization behind the SWIFT global network will allow lenders to move real money and assets in trial transactions between different blockchain ledgers.
According to Nick Carrigan, head of innovation at SWIFT, this change will unify the various platforms on which central and private banks are experimenting with blockchain technology.
“We don’t want to see the emergence of what we call ‘digital islands. We’re trying to help the industry find a way to ensure that wherever a digital asset or digital currency is created, and whatever technology they’re created on, they can work successfully with each other and the existing financial system,” Carrigan said.
Banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup have been building their own blockchain capabilities for several years, leading to a fragmented technology in which networks of different lenders have difficulty interacting.
Meanwhile, the use of blockchain networks to tokenize assets such as customer deposits and bonds is steadily growing. According to a June study by Standard Chartered, the total value of tokenized assets worldwide is expected to reach $30 trillion by 2034.