Global Banking Network Begins Using Bitcoin Technology For Transfers

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia –Global banking network SWIFT plans to test real-time transactions using digital currencies and asset tokens starting next year, marking the integration of blockchain technology into the global financial system.

The financial industry has been slow to adopt blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, the technology that underlies bitcoin and other crypto assets. Global banks and asset managers have been looking for ways to convert traditional assets into “tokens” for years.

Banks and other financial institutions hope that blockchain will make trading assets faster, cheaper and more efficient by eliminating the need for “middlemen” for cross-border transactions.

However, the system of recording transactions has not yet been commercially adopted.

Reuters says that about 90 percent of the world’s central banks are currently testing the technology behind bitcoin to issue digital versions of their currencies, known as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

SWIFT has been testing both CBDCs and asset tokenization. The agency announced a platform in March that would integrate CBDCs into the existing financial system.

“We see a demand from the industry to move beyond the pilot phase and see digital assets actually moving, and parties transacting by paying for them with real money,” said SWIFT’s Nick Kerigan. “That’s a stage we’ll be entering next year, but in a controlled manner.”

SOURCE : CNBC INDONESIA