SWIFT Partners With Crypto Data Provider Chainlink on Cross-Chain Protocol in TradFi Play (2024)

SWIFT, the interbank messaging system that allows for cross-border payments, is working with Chainlink, a provider of price feeds and other data to blockchains, on a cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP) in an initial proof-of-concept.

CCIP will enable SWIFT messages to instruct on-chain token transfers, helping the interbank network to be able to communicate across all blockchain environments.

This will help accelerate the adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) blockchains and benefit various institutions across capital markets, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov said at the SmartCon 2022 conference in New York City on Wednesday.

SWIFT’s Strategy Director Jonathan Ehrenfeld Solé said that one of the reasons working with Chainlink on CCIP has been successful is that there is “undeniable interest” in crypto from institutional investors. Traditional finance (TradFi) players want access to various digital and traditional assets on one network that can connect different types of asset classes, Solé said.

The partnership between Chainlink and SWIFT in cross-chain interoperability will help bridge the gap between traditional and digital assets for TradFi institutions, he added. Chainlink's native token is LINK.

The demand for interoperability has increased in recent months, having been touted as the next big development for not just crypto natives but also TradFi investors moving into digital assets.

On Sept. 22, Cryptography network Lit Protocol said it raised $13 million in a Series A round led by crypto investment firm 1kx to hire developers creating decentralized ownership and interoperability across protocols. Meanwhile, in August, several Solana-based projects teamed up to create the Open Chat Alliance, an interoperable messaging platform.

Last year, SWIFT said that it was planning a series of experiments in the first quarter of 2022 around improving the exchange of information between the participants and systems that interact during the lifecycle of tokenized assets.