SWIFT, XRP, HSBC: The Crypto Triumvirate You Just Can’t Ignore

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SWIFT goes blockchain and HSBC quietly ditches the “old guard” for Ripple‑driven tech. Traditional finance and crypto finally shared a passport photo.

SWIFT announced they’re adding a blockchain‑based shared ledger to their payment network at Sibos 2025 in Frankfurt. The chatter, which has been louder than a London Underground tube, hasn’t stopped escalating since.

SWIFT CEO Javier Pérez‑Tasso confirmed the move in an official statement, noting the network will record, sequence, and validate transactions via smart contracts. He pointed out that banks have been chanting for SWIFT to step up its game in digital finance. Over 30 global financial institutions from 16 countries are already helping sketch the ledger. The prototype is built with ConsenSys.

“You might think, ‘Are SWIFT and blockchain not a love‑hate pair?’” Pérez‑Tasso quipped in the announcement, explaining that in the regulated system of the future, the two can play nicely. “In infrastructure strength lies layered innovation,” he added. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

The HSBC Thread Nobody’s Loud About

Then there’s HSBC. Quiet. Calculated. Already marching forward.

ChartNerdTA reminded followers on X that HSBC runs Ripple‑acquired Metaco’s Harmonise platform to deliver tokenised securities. That isn’t rumor; it’s confirmed infrastructure. ChartNerdTA also pointed out that HSBC sits inside the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Project Ensemble, where Ripple acts as a core tech provider for the e‑HKD pilot.

“Smile and wave, boys,” ChartNerdTA posted on X. Short, but its weight lands heavier when you map the connections.

HSBC uses Ripple’s custody tech. It is also part of a project where Ripple handles the digital currency layer. And XRP is the native asset of Ripple. That chain of links isn’t subtle; it’s simply not being announced with a press release.

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What SWIFT Actually Built – And Why It Matters Now

The ledger will run alongside SWIFT’s existing messaging rails and ISO 20022 standards. Pérez‑Tasso described it as a layered approach, not a replacement.

The system will cover over 200 countries and territories. Compliance, risk controls, and governance rules will be embedded directly into transaction flows-meaning regulators can be baked in from the start, not patched on later.

ConsenSys, an Ethereum infrastructure firm, is building the prototype. So this isn’t even a strictly XRP story; it’s about traditional finance speeding toward tokenised rails, and several digital asset networks are positioned nearby.

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Meanwhile, the Project Ensemble connection deserves more attention. HKMA’s initiative is one of the most advanced central bank digital asset programmes. Ripple sits in it as technology infrastructure, HSBC as a participating institution. Whether or not XRP moves value directly in that environment, the network effect around Ripple’s tech keeps widening.

ChartNerdTA’s X post framed it plainly: Metaco’s Harmonise platform is now embedded in one of the world’s largest banks, and Ripple bought Metaco. Those two facts together are not coincidental.

Ripple’s Reach Is Getting Harder to Ignore

SWIFT’s blockchain move is the headline. The deeper story is how institutional infrastructure is consolidating around a handful of blockchain‑adjacent firms, with Ripple keeping showing up.

The 30‑plus banks designing SWIFT’s ledger have not disclosed their full list. What’s known is that institutions from 16 countries are shaping governance and functionality. HSBC, given its existing Ripple exposure, would not be out of place in that group. That’s speculation, but it’s grounded speculation.

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What isn’t speculation: SWIFT is going blockchain. HSBC is already running Ripple’s technology. And the same bank is part of a Hong Kong digital currency programme where Ripple is embedded at the infrastructure level. Three separate data points. One direction.

The line between TradFi and crypto rails just got harder to draw.

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2026-02-18 15:20