Swift Concludes Tokenized Bond Tests. Market Shifts from 'Bridges' to Shared Ledger

Capital market tokenization in 2025 faced one structural problem: ledger fragmentation. While issuance and custody of tokenized assets work technologically, their real scalability remained limited by each bank, infrastructure, or jurisdiction operating on its own ledger.

Swift's Experiments

Swift completed a series of tests focused on interoperability of tokenized bonds between different blockchain platforms. Results show that:

• Transactions between different ledgers are technically feasible
• Latency remains a challenge for real-time settlement
• Standardization is key to scalability

Shift to Unified Ledger

The market is gradually moving from the concept of "bridges" between different ledgers to the idea of a shared ledger. This approach offers:

• Single source of truth about asset state
• Elimination of reconciliation
• Atomic settlement

Market Implications

Swift remains a key player in transitioning traditional financial institutions to tokenized infrastructure. Its experiments indicate the direction the industry will take.