Swift’s new blockchain-based ledger may be ready for live payments, but banks still need additional digital-asset infrastructure before they can connect to it, according to Taurus co-founder and managing partner Lamine Brahimi. The required technology includes a permissioned ledger, wallet capabilities, and tokenization and smart-contract infrastructure.
The additional layers mean Swift’s ledger is not designed to replace banks’ internal systems. Instead, it functions as an orchestration layer for moving tokenized deposits across borders around the clock, while final settlement continues through existing arrangements. Banks still need infrastructure to hold and manage tokenized deposits, operate digital-asset wallets and interact with the smart contracts used by the ledger.
Swift said in July that 17 banks were preparing live tokenized-deposit transactions, marking an early step toward modernizing a banking messaging system that has remained dominant since the 1970s. HSBC and Standard Chartered completed the first live interbank transaction using the ledger in August, while DBS and Citi later executed a weekend cross-border dollar payment in minutes rather than up to two business days.
Brahimi said the additional technology should not necessarily be viewed as a major obstacle for banks that already issue or manage digital assets. He also argued that the infrastructure requirement does not undermine Swift’s position, describing the ledger as an early-stage product that gives banks a choice between existing payment rails and tokenized deposits capable of moving around the clock.
Taurus recently announced its integration with Swift and says its platform provides the three required layers through a single system: a permissioned ledger, wallet-management tools, and tokenization and smart-contract software. According to Brahimi, competing approaches may require banks to combine multiple vendors to provide the same capabilities.
The infrastructure requirement also highlights why tokenized deposits remain primarily an institutional application. While banks have operated internal tokenized-deposit systems, transferring value between institutions requires compatible systems and shared standards. Swift’s ledger therefore represents an additional coordination layer rather than a complete replacement for the digital-asset infrastructure banks need to operate these transactions.
