Sibos 2026: Swift's Nick Kerigan on the launch of a live blockchain ledger

Quick Summary

Nick Kerigan of Swift reflects on a year of rapid development at Sibos 2026. Following an announcement 12 months prior, Swift has successfully launched a blockchain-based ledger that is now live and facilitating real-world transactions for a growing group of global financial institutions.

What is the current status of the Swift blockchain ledger?

Kerigan notes that the ledger moved from announcement to technical live status within nine months. At the time of Sibos 2026, the progress includes:

• 13 banks are already conducting live transactions on the platform.
• The system currently supports five currencies across eight different markets.
• A further six banks have committed to joining the live environment before the end of the year.

The speed of this rollout is attributed to a narrow focus on wholesale cross-border payments, a use case designed in close collaboration with a dedicated design group of banks to ensure immediate utility and ease of adoption.

What specific use cases are being tested on the platform?

The ledger has reached a significant milestone by proving its model through various transaction types. Kerigan highlights that the system is handling interbank use cases and corporate treasury transactions. A key benefit is the ability to facilitate 24/7 flows, such as US dollar transfers over weekends, which bypasses the traditional constraints of existing settlement systems. Kerigan also points to external innovations like Project Ponto by the European Central Bank, which aims to move settlement into a tokenised, 24/7 environment, complementing the work being done by Swift.

How does Swift view the future of digital money?

Swift operates on the belief that the future financial system will be multi-rail, multi-asset, and multi-chain. This includes a landscape where tokenised deposits, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and stablecoins coexist. Rather than backing a single instrument, Swift focuses on preventing fragmentation. Kerigan explains that as these new forms of digital money emerge alongside traditional fiat, the primary challenge for infrastructure providers is ensuring they can all work together. This involves leveraging the programmability of money to automate complex financial processes and improve efficiency across the network.

What new initiatives were announced regarding digital asset standards?

During the Standards Forum at Sibos 2026, Swift announced the creation of a digital asset standards platform. This initiative allows the financial community to bring business standards for digital assets onto a central platform and publish them openly for others to use. The goal is to provide a unified framework that accelerates the adoption of digital assets and digital money by the entire Swift community. Interoperability remains the core objective, whether achieved through the live ledger, updated messaging standards, or this new collaborative platform.

FF NEWS TAKE:

The transition of Swift's blockchain ledger from a conceptual project to a live production environment with 13 major banks is a watershed moment for institutional DLT. By focusing on the practicalities of wholesale cross-border payments and 24/7 liquidity, Swift is addressing the most immediate pain points in global finance. The announcement of a digital asset standards platform further cements their role as the industry connective tissue. As the world moves toward a multi-chain reality, Swift's emphasis on interoperability ensures they remain central to the movement of value, regardless of the underlying technology or asset type.