Chainlink has unveiled one of the first products developed through its collaboration with UBS Asset Management and Swift, the global financial messaging network. The initiative is designed to allow banks to carry out transactions based on blockchain technology using their existing systems.

According to the announcement, Chainlink connected its Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) with Swift messaging, enabling financial institutions worldwide to access blockchain networks through Swift’s existing infrastructure. This builds on Project Guardian, a 2024 pilot run by Chainlink, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and UBS Tokenize. That project showed how tokenized fund operations could work alongside traditional fiat systems.

As part of the pilot, Swift’s ISO 20022 messages were used to process fund subscriptions and redemptions directly on blockchain networks. Normally, these operations pass through multiple intermediaries such as custodians and fund administrators, which adds time and complexity.

Chainlink noted that this setup allows financial institutions to use “last-mile connectivity options already familiar and used by financial institutions and service providers today.” A report by McKinsey estimated that assets under management reached $147 trillion as of June 2025, highlighting the scale of the market that blockchain integrations could impact.

Swift expands its blockchain efforts

Swift, a Belgium-based cooperative that has been the backbone of cross-border payments since the 1970s, has been working with Chainlink since 2023. Early trials showed how Swift’s systems could provide banks with a single point of access to multiple blockchains.

In 2024, Swift joined the Project Agorá initiative with the Bank for International Settlements and more than 40 private firms, exploring how tokenized commercial bank deposits could interact with wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

That same year, Swift outlined plans for a blockchain-based “state machine” to track transactions and balances across institutions using ISO 20022 messaging. The system was designed to run either on blockchain or through its centralized Transaction Manager.

Swift is also collaborating with Ethereum developer Consensys and over 30 financial institutions to build a settlement system that would support real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments.

Sources:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chainlink-advances-tokenized-fund-workflows-with-swift-messaging-in-collaboration-with-ubs-302570072.html

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/asset-management-2025-the-great-convergence

https://cointelegraph.com/news/chainlink-integrates-swift-funds-transactions-onchain