SWIFT, the global bank messaging network, announced that banks across North America, Europe, and Asia will begin live trials of digital assets and currency transactions over its network starting next year, according to an Oct. 3 statement.

These trials will explore how financial institutions can leverage their existing SWIFT connections to process transactions involving both traditional and digital assets.

‘Digital islands’

SWIFT pointed out that institutional interest in digital assets is rapidly growing, with 134 countries exploring CBDCs. The tokenized asset market could reach $30 trillion by 2034, and 91% of institutional investors have shown interest in it.

SWIFT aims to demonstrate how its network can ease connectivity challenges between digital platforms, which remain a major barrier to broader sector adoption. The company highlighted that the trials will focus on streamlining connections between disparate digital systems, often referred to as “digital islands,” which hinder the seamless use of digital assets.

Tom Zschach, SWIFT’s Chief Innovation Officer, emphasized the importance of integrating both digital and traditional assets, stating:

“As new forms of value emerge, our intention is to continue offering our community the ability to seamlessly make and track transactions of all kinds of assets – using the same secure and resilient infrastructure that is integral to their operations today.”

To support these efforts, SWIFT plans to enhance its infrastructure, developing an advanced system capable of managing digital asset and currency transactions across various networks. This follows the company’s previous work in linking public and private blockchains, as well as its efforts to connect Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and integrate other digital assets.

Already, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Banque de France are collaborating with SWIFT in preparation for next year’s trials. They are exploring SWIFT’s capabilities in foreign exchange experiments as part of the European Central Bank’s initiative to advance new technologies for wholesale payments.

SWIFT is also examining how its interlinking capabilities could connect emerging bank-led networks, like the US Regulated Settlement Network, to traditional financial systems.

Additionally, the company has joined Project Agora, a Bank for International Settlements-led initiative. This project focuses on integrating tokenized commercial bank deposits and tokenized wholesale CBDCs on a unified platform.