Taurus Lianchuang: Banks need to build a three-layer infrastructure to access the Swift blockchain ledger

Lamine Brahimi, co-founder and managing partner of the cryptocurrency custody and tokenization company Taurus, stated in an interview with CoinDesk that banks need to meet three conditions to access the newly launched blockchain ledger by Swift: a proprietary permissioned chain that interacts with the Swift ledger, wallet capabilities, and tokenization and smart contract capabilities to integrate Swift's smart contracts.

He pointed out that this means the Swift ledger is not a replacement for banks' internal systems, but rather acts as an orchestration layer, helping institutions achieve cross-border, round-the-clock transfers of tokenized deposits, with final settlement still completed through existing arrangements. Banks still need to hold and manage tokenized deposits, digital asset wallets, and related smart contracts themselves. In July, Swift announced that 17 banks were preparing for real-time transactions of tokenized deposits; in August, HSBC and Standard Chartered completed the first real-time interbank transaction, followed by DBS and Citibank completing weekend cross-border USD payments, reducing settlement time from a maximum of two business days to just a few minutes.

Brahimi stated that additional infrastructure should not be seen as a flaw in Swift's design; the ledger is still an early product but provides banks with a choice between existing payment channels and tokenized deposits that can circulate around the clock. Taurus announced in August that it had completed Swift integration, providing the aforementioned three layers of capability through a single platform. He added that tokenized deposits were used very little before Swift's announcement, primarily adopted by larger global banks like JPMorgan. The Swift model retains deposits on the banks' balance sheets, distinguishing it from stablecoins issued outside the banking system.