IBM and Swift Unveil Blockchain-Based Ledger for Tokenized Deposits

IBM has announced a beta integration that connects financial institutions to Swift's blockchain-based shared ledger for tokenized deposits. The integration, part of IBM Digital Asset Haven, allows banks to instruct tokenized-deposit transactions using existing ISO 20022 payment messages.

The integration addresses one of the biggest obstacles to institutional blockchain adoption: connecting to compliance, messaging, and operational infrastructure already in place. By allowing banks to send instructions to Swift's ledger using familiar payment-message formats, IBM aims to make the transition to tokenized deposits more seamless.

Swift's shared ledger is designed around bank-issued tokenized deposits, enabling transactions to move around the clock before final settlement through established systems. The platform has already been tested by 17 first-mover institutions, with IBM introducing an on-premises beta version of Digital Asset Haven to run the digital-asset platform inside banks' data centers.