SWIFT, the global interbank messaging network, is reportedly experimenting with moving payment instructions onchain using Consensys’ Ethereum layer-2 network Linea, according to The Block’s reporting and follow-up coverage citing sources familiar with the matter. The reported pilot is aimed at combining messaging and settlement in a single blockchain-based workflow for bank transfers, with participants including large institutions such as BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon. SWIFT already connects more than 11,000 financial institutions worldwide, so any shift in how it handles transaction messaging would be significant for the plumbing of global finance. The key context is that Linea is a Consensys-built Ethereum scaling network designed to offer lower-cost, faster settlement while preserving Ethereum security properties through cryptographic proofs. For banks, that combination matters because cross-border payment systems are often slowed by multiple intermediaries, fragmented messaging, and operational reconciliation. The pilot is still early and described as an experiment rather than a launch, so it does not yet mean SWIFT has fully migrated its traffic onchain. If the trial progresses, it could become an important test of whether a public blockchain layer-2 can support regulated financial infrastructure at institutional scale.

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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