What is Layer 2?
Layer 2 solutions are protocols built on top of the Ethereum main network (Layer 1) to increase scalability, speed and cost efficiency without compromising security. They offload transaction data from the main blockchain, enabling faster transactions and lower fees.
SWIFT’s Strategic Move to Ethereum Layer-2 Linea
SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) has launched an important pilot program to test Ethereum stablecoin payments on the Linea blockchain, Consensys’ Ethereum Layer 2 platform. A cornerstone of traditional finance, this strategic move marks a deep adoption of digital assets with the aim to revolutionize the efficiency, transparency and cost-effectiveness of cross-border payments. By combining payment instructions and clearing into a single on-chain transaction, SWIFT is poised to accelerate the mainstream adoption of digital assets and redefine stablecoins as critical commodities in the evolving global financial landscape.
SWIFT’s recent foray into blockchain-based cross-border payments marks a major shift in the financial ecosystem. By partnering with Linea, an Ethereum Layer-2 solution, the global interbank messaging network is not only testing the technology, it is redefining the infrastructure of global finance. The move, which involves more than a dozen major banks including BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon, marks a wider adoption of blockchain by institutions and positions crypto infrastructure as a critical asset class for long-term investments.
The Strategic Rationale Behind SWIFT’s Move
SWIFT’s pilot program uses Linea’s zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup technology. This technology enables low-cost, high-throughput transactions while inheriting Ethereum’s security and privacy features through cryptographic proofs. By combining payment instructions and clearing into a single on-chain transaction, SWIFT aims to eliminate intermediaries, reduce costs by up to 70% and enable real-time tracking of cross-border payments.
SWIFT Selects Ethereum Layer-2 Chain Linea for Stablecoin Testing:
LINEA, developed by Consensys, was chosen for its emphasis on privacy through advanced cryptographic proofs and the ability to process multiple transactions simultaneously. These features are attractive for banks balancing the need for efficiency with regulatory compliance and privacy. By combining payment instructions and clearing into a single on-chain process, the Linea pilot project aims to reduce costs and enable participants to track progress in real time.
This groundbreaking initiative, involving more than a dozen leading global banks, demonstrates a significant endorsement of blockchain technology and stablecoins by the established financial order. Directly addressing the long-standing inefficiencies of the traditional correspondent banking system, this initiative promises unprecedented speed and cost reduction in international payments. As stablecoins gain popularity as a reliable medium of exchange and store of value, SWIFT’s research positions them as essential tools for transferring value in the digital economy, similar to the traditional commodities that underpin global trade.
The main objective of the pilot program is to demonstrate how it is possible for financial institutions to go beyond SWIFT’s traditional role as a messaging service to provide direct on-chain settlement for payments. By combining payment instructions and settlement into a single atomic on-chain transaction, this initiative aims to significantly reduce costs and enable real-time monitoring of the payment process. This is in sharp contrast to the settlement times of several days and the large number of intermediaries in the current system.
SWIFT’s strategic choice of Linea, the Ethereum Layer 2 zk-rollup network developed by blockchain software company Consensys, is a testament to its commitment to scalability, security and privacy. Linea’s technology offers low-cost, high-throughput transactions while inheriting the robust security of the underlying Ethereum network. Most importantly, its advanced cryptographic proofs address critical compliance and regulatory issues related to data privacy for participating financial institutions, making it an ideal platform for institutional adoption. While the full stablecoin initiative or interbank token project is currently under evaluation or review, the pilot project is explicitly exploring the use of a stablecoin-like token as a direct on-chain payment model.
The September 26, 2025 announcement builds on SWIFT’s earlier announcements regarding live trials of digital asset and currency transactions. In October 2024, SWIFT stated that banks in North America, Europe and Asia would begin these trials in 2025, and this Linea pilot project marks the transition from experimental stages to real-world implementation trials. The main actors involved in this study include SWIFT as coordinator, Consensys and Linea network as technology providers, and a consortium of global banks such as BNP Paribas (OTCMKTS: BNPPF) and BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK) as active participants.
Corporate Liquidity
This pilot program strongly confirms that digital assets are integral to the future of finance and represents a fundamental shift as traditional financial institutions embrace blockchain technology. SWIFT’s move beyond enhancing existing messaging and into direct on-chain settlement demonstrates a maturing strategy to put blockchain at the heart of transactions. The decision to use Linea, an Ethereum Layer 2 solution, highlights a pragmatic approach to addressing scalability, cost and privacy concerns for enterprise-level volumes.
This initiative aligns with and accelerates several key industry trends, including the widespread adoption of digital assets, the growth of the tokenized economy (market estimates are that it will reach $17 trillion by 2030), and the growing demand for faster, cheaper and more transparent payments. By exploring direct on-chain payment, SWIFT aims to achieve unprecedented efficiency in international transactions and address the long-standing inefficiencies of legacy systems.
BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon stand to gain significantly as active participants in the pilot project. Their early involvement will provide invaluable experience and influence in shaping the future standards and infrastructure of blockchain-based cross-border payments. Adoption of stablecoin payments on Linea could lead to reduced costs, faster payment times, greater security and transparency, and increased operational efficiency. By taking advantage of early adoption, these banks can offer modern cross-border payment services, attract more customers and gain a competitive advantage. Conversely, traditional financial institutions that are slow to adapt and integrate blockchain technology into their core operations risk losing market share due to their often cumbersome and expensive reliance on legacy systems.
SWIFT’s Digital Breakthrough:
The ripple effect also extends to regulators. With a particular focus on “regulated stablecoins” or “stablecoin-like tokens”, the SWIFT Linea test is expected to provide a practical blueprint for how such assets can be integrated into a compliant and regulated financial system. This will accelerate discussions among global regulators on the supervision of these new financial instruments and influence policy development on interoperability between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and private stablecoins. The emphasis on “regulated stablecoins” marks a shift towards assets that comply with existing or emerging financial regulations, distinguishing them from less regulated cryptocurrencies.
Historically, SWIFT’s move can be seen in the context of its long history of adapting to technological developments. This pilot is a significant evolution from its traditional messaging service role to exploring direct payment on-chain, a capability that extends to direct value transfer. This is a strategic effort to remain relevant in a rapidly digitalizing financial world, just as traditional banks, initially skeptical, eventually integrated the internet into their operations. This initiative represents SWIFT “catching up” with the digital age and is an important step towards a more efficient, transparent and interconnected global payments system.
The Future of Digital Payments:
On the heels of the Linea test, practical results – crucial for assessing technical viability, security and scalability – are expected in a few months. SWIFT is ready to conduct broader live trials of digital asset and currency transactions covering stablecoins, tokenized currencies and CBDCs from November 2025. A major infrastructure change to natively support blockchain capabilities is also underway, with SWIFT fully transitioning to the ISO 20022 MX format by November 2025.
Long-term possibilities include the proliferation of digital assets within traditional finance, a paradigm shift towards a more digital and distributed financial future. SWIFT plans to enhance its platform to offer DLT-based services to its more than 11,000 members, providing end-to-end automation and backward compatibility. Market analysts predict significant growth in the stablecoin market. This growth could reach $3.7 trillion by 2030, and the broader tokenized asset market could grow to $17 trillion by 2030 or even $30 trillion by 2034.
Strategic transformations and adaptations will be crucial. Financial institutions must actively innovate and integrate blockchain technology to remain competitive. A key challenge is managing interoperability between different blockchain networks and traditional financial systems. SWIFT aims to connect these “digital islands”. Widespread adoption depends on strengthening cybersecurity and compliance measures, as well as clarifying regulations and establishing consistent legal frameworks.
Market opportunities include the emergence of new services such as digital asset custody and tokenization services, improved corporate treasury operations, and the potential for stablecoins or tokenized deposits issued by banks. However, challenges will need to be addressed, such as regulatory fragmentation, cybersecurity risks, reserve transparency and the potential disappearance of deposit brokerage for traditional banks. Various scenarios could arise, ranging from a gradual and phased integration of blockchain capabilities to a more radical overhaul, such as a significant portion of cross-border payments moving to a blockchain-based model, with SWIFT acting as the “orchestrator” of various DLT clearing rails.
A New Landscape for Global Finance:
SWIFT’s announcement regarding its testing of Ethereum stablecoin payments on Linea is a significant milestone in the evolution of global finance. This announcement is a decisive step by traditional financial institutions to embrace digital assets and paves the way for a more efficient, transparent and interconnected global payments system.
Highlights emphasize SWIFT’s commitment to blockchain integration, with a strong focus on on-chain messaging and strategic exploration of stablecoin-like tokens for payment. The broad participation of major global banks such as BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon confirms the importance of the initiative and its potential for widespread adoption, while also intensifying the competitive landscape for existing blockchain-based payment solutions such as Ripple (XRP).
Going forward, the market can expect more attention to be paid to the development of blockchain interoperability and regulated digital asset frameworks. Cross-border payments, which have long suffered from slowness and high costs, will benefit significantly. The lasting impact could be a fundamental transformation of international payment systems, facilitating global payments and reducing reliance on multiple intermediaries. This strategic statement ensures that SWIFT’s vast network can support digital assets and currencies securely and efficiently through existing connectivity.
The New Gold Standard for Crypto Infrastructure:
The participation of major banks in SWIFT’s pilot program highlights an important trend. Institutional endorsement accelerates the legitimization of blockchain infrastructure. For years, cryptocurrency opponents have dismissed blockchain as a speculative fad. But when institutions like BNY Mellon, a traditional banking giant, dedicate resources to testing on-chain settlements, it signals a paradigm shift.
This adoption is not just symbolic. As more organizations integrate blockchain into their operations, the demand for scalable and secure infrastructure (such as Ethereum and its Layer-2s) increases. Benzinga’s data shows that within a week of SWIFT’s announcement, Linea’s total value locked (TVL) increased by 20%. Such metrics are crucial for investors seeking blue-chip exposure to crypto infrastructure, as they demonstrate real-world usefulness and demand.
Technical Advantages and Competitive Dynamics
The global financial system is preparing for a major infrastructure change. SWIFT, the organization behind $150 trillion in annual cross-border payments, has approved its integration with blockchain. On November 22, 2025, the update will go live and enable support for blockchain-based payment features. These changes move blockchain from the experimental phase into everyday corporate workflows.
From Theory to Global Integration:
The November 2025 release includes support for blockchain wallet addresses, smart contract oracles and tokenized asset fields. The documentation specifically mentions support for Digital Ledger Identifiers (DLIs) and Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs). These changes allow financial messages to interact directly with the distributed ledger infrastructure. In particular, CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) and crypto wallets can now be included as valid cash account endpoints in payment messages.
SWIFT has confirmed that this upgrade applies to both legacy MT messages and the new MX (ISO 20022) standard. This provides a foundation for programmable finance while ensuring backward compatibility. It also enables one-time tracing for blockchain-based sorting, which supports on-chain sorting of digital asset transfers. As a result, blockchain capabilities will be integrated into the core workflows of global financial institutions.
Institutional Framework for Blockchain:
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to the underlying systems that support digital payments, identity and data exchange at a national or global level. DPI includes elements such as real-time payment systems, digital identity standards and tokenization protocols. Many countries are currently developing DPI frameworks in collaboration with international organizations such as the World Bank and the IMF.
By extending SWIFT’s messaging system to include wallet addresses and tokenized instruments, traditional financial institutions are gaining a DPI-compliant interface. As more governments explore CBDC pilots and tokenized bonds, these new formats will play an important role in ensuring compliance, payment efficiency and data integrity. However, challenges remain. Linea recently experienced a sequencer failure, raising questions about the reliability of Layer-2 networks. Yet the quick resolution of the problem (within an hour) and the subsequent growth of TVL shows the resilience of the network. For investors, this highlights the importance of evaluating both the technical robustness and institutional backing of crypto infrastructure projects.
Implications for Blue Chip Crypto Investing:
The SWIFT-Linea partnership has important implications for investors. First, it confirms Ethereum’s role as the foundational layer of global finance. As institutions adopt Ethereum-based solutions, the network’s value proposition (security, scalability and interoperability) becomes increasingly indispensable. Second, it elevates Layer-2 networks like Linea as blue-chip investments. Unlike speculative tokens, these projects offer tangible benefits and are backed by institutional use cases.
For portfolio diversification, investors should consider participating in the Ethereum ecosystem, including staking derivatives, Layer-2 tokens and infrastructure providers. Linea’s recent airdrop, coupled with its partnership with SWIFT, demonstrates how institutional adoption can increase both network usefulness and token value.
Conclusion
SWIFT’s transition to Linea is more than a technical experiment. It heralds a new era where blockchain infrastructure becomes the foundation of global finance. For investors, this means the opportunity to benefit from the convergence of institutional adoption and crypto innovation. As the boundaries between traditional and decentralized finance blur, blue-chip crypto assets, especially those with institutional-grade infrastructure, will dominate the next phase of growth. The SWIFT Ethereum stablecoin test on Linea is likely to significantly impact various public companies in the financial sector, creating both clear winners and potential challenges.
Investors should closely follow the progress and results of the pilot program, the advancements in SWIFT’s stablecoin and interbank token initiatives, and the evolving regulatory responses globally. The growth of Linea and the broader Ethereum ecosystem will be important indicators, along with the adaptive strategies of competitors. SWIFT’s proactive engagement with DLT and stablecoins enables it to maintain its central role in global financial messaging, combining traditional fiat systems with the emerging digital asset economy. As a result, the use of zkEVM guarantees compatibility with Ethereum applications, making integration more seamless for institutions already exploring blockchain. SWIFT now has the tools to build a modern system that combines security, privacy and speed. As development progresses, the platform could become a long-term blockchain foundation for global finance.
