Chainlink Links Up with SWIFT for Cross-Border Payments

Chainlink (LINK) has made significant strides in traditional finance after partnering with SWIFT to enable banks to connect their systems to its blockchain ledger. The collaboration aims to facilitate 24/7 cross-border payments using tokenized deposits, which would remain on bank-owned ledgers while Swift's ledger coordinates the movement of funds between participating institutions.

The SWIFT network covers over 11,500 financial institutions and corporates across more than 200 markets. However, not all institutions are adopting Chainlink, with banks still controlling the keys needed to authorize transactions. Chainlink's Runtime Environment (CRE) would coordinate workflows between their systems and Swift.

Chainlink Labs CEO Sergey Nazarov expressed excitement about supporting the SWIFT ledger as more banks explore tokenized deposits and connection to the network. This development comes as Chainlink launched CCIP 2.0, an updated version of its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, which adds new transaction verification options, compliance controls, and customizable transfer settings.

The integration with SWIFT has contributed to growing institutional interest in LINK, with spot Chainlink ETFs attracting $6.4 million over the past week, according to data from Sosovalue. This influx of capital supports LINK's recent rally, which saw the token surge 18.7% over the past week.