Swift and Chainlink Will Test Connecting Over a Dozen Financial Institutions to Blockchain Networks

Swift - the interbank messaging system and Chainlink (LINK), a provider of real world data to blockchains, will be collaborating with dozens of financial institutions to test how they can connect with multiple blockchain networks, according to a press release on Tuesday.

In a new set of experiments, Swift will partner with major TradFi institutions like Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citi, Clearstream, Euroclear and Lloyds Banking Group. The goal is to test how these institutions can use the Swift's infrastructure to instruct the transfer of tokenized assets across blockchains, the press release said.

Chainlink will provide connectivity across both public and private blockchains for these experiments, the statement added. The Swift and Chainlink partnership was first announced last year at Chainlinks annual conference SmartCon.

In capital markets, there is a growing view that blockchain technology could "generate efficiencies, reduce costs," and a simplified settlement processes could attract more investors into the private markets as well as increase liquidity, Swift said in its release.

Not only this is an important move for financial institutions but it also represent a significant step for the crypto industry, Chainlink's co-founder, Sergey Nazarov, told CoinDesk.

"Banks hold the largest amount of capital globally and if our industry is going to grow past the single digit trillions, then the banks have to come in and in reality, I think it'll be the banks and their clients that grow the blockchain industry past $10 trillion," Nazarov said. Currently the crypto market-cap stands at $1.08 trillion according to CoinMarketCap data.

Read more: SWIFT Is Partnering With Chainlink: Here’s the Down-low on the Blockchain Data Provider