Digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus has connected its tokenization and custody platforms to Swift’s blockchain-based shared ledger, giving financial institutions a route to use bank-issued tokenized deposits for round-the-clock cross-border payments.
Summary
- Taurus has connected its custody and tokenization platforms to Swift’s blockchain ledger.
- The first client integrations are expected within days, followed by initial DLT transactions within weeks.
- Banks can use the connection for cross-border payments involving bank-issued tokenized deposits.
- Swift’s ledger has already processed its first live cross-border transaction between Standard Chartered and HSBC.
Taurus said Wednesday that the integration connects Swift smart contracts with Taurus-CAPITAL and Taurus-PROTECT on clients’ permissioned blockchain infrastructure, with the first client connections expected within days and initial distributed ledger transactions planned within weeks.
Existing Taurus clients can add the connection to infrastructure already running in production, while banks without their own blockchain systems can use managed Hyperledger Besu infrastructure and Ethereum Virtual Machine connectivity supplied by Taurus. The company also supports institutions that already operate Besu or another EVM-compatible system by connecting its tokenization and wallet tools to their existing nodes.
Taurus gives banks a route into Swift’s tokenized deposit ledger
Under the integration, Taurus-PROTECT provides programmable wallet and key-management functions, including governance rules, approval workflows and API-based automation. Taurus-CAPITAL handles the issuance and management of bank-issued tokenized money while allowing deposits to remain on the issuing bank’s balance sheet.
For banks that do not already operate blockchain infrastructure, Taurus said it can deploy and manage the permissioned Hyperledger Besu environment required to connect with Swift’s system. Existing Taurus customers can have their infrastructure extended for ledger connectivity within a matter of days.
The arrangement gives financial institutions another way to access a network that Swift moved into initial deployment in July after about nine months of development. As crypto.news previously reported, 17 banks across six continents were preparing to test tokenized deposit payments when the ledger entered its first controlled rollout on July 9. Participants included HSBC, Citi, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ, DBS and Standard Chartered.
More than 40 financial institutions were involved in designing the system, according to Taurus, while Swift’s existing network connects more than 11,500 financial institutions and companies across more than 200 markets.
Taurus co-founder and managing partner Lamine Brahimi said financial institutions need digital asset infrastructure that can work securely with systems they already operate. He said the Swift connectivity allows banks to extend their digital asset capabilities into tokenized deposits and cross-border payments while retaining control over their infrastructure.
Swift’s ledger keeps tokenized deposits on bank balance sheets
Swift’s shared ledger is designed as an orchestration layer between participating institutions, coordinating transfers of tokenized deposits before final settlement takes place through established payment arrangements.
Bank-issued deposits remain on each institution’s own ledger, while Swift coordinates their movement between participants. Payments can operate overnight and on weekends, extending availability beyond the overlapping business hours that can restrict traditional cross-border transfers.
Final settlement still takes place through existing mechanisms, including real-time gross settlement systems, meaning participating banks do not need to replace their current settlement arrangements to use the blockchain-based layer.
A July tokenized deposit explainer detailed how such instruments represent commercial bank deposits on a blockchain while retaining a one-to-one relationship with money held on the issuing bank’s balance sheet. The structure differs from stablecoins because the underlying money remains within the commercial banking system and under the banking regulatory framework.
Swift’s ledger applies that model across multiple institutions. Each participating bank can issue or operate its own tokenized deposits, while the shared infrastructure provides a common layer for coordinating payments between otherwise separate systems.
The model has already moved past its initial development stage. Standard Chartered and HSBC have completed the ledger’s first live cross-border transaction, connecting separate tokenized deposit systems through Swift’s infrastructure.
Taurus expands infrastructure already used by financial institutions
The Swift connection adds another institutional function to Taurus’ digital asset stack, which already combines custody, tokenization, blockchain connectivity and staking services for financial institutions.
During June, Taurus added institutional staking through an integration with P2P.org. The arrangement gave banks using Taurus-PROTECT access to validator infrastructure while allowing them to keep custody and control of their assets within existing workflows.
Ethereum staking was included at launch, while connectivity also covered proof-of-stake networks including Solana, Polkadot, Cosmos, NEAR, Cardano and Tezos. P2P.org reported more than $10 billion in delegated assets across over 50 networks at the time.
Taurus has said its institutional client base includes State Street, Deutsche Bank, Santander and CACEIS. The company also opened a New York office in October 2025 as it expanded its presence in the U.S. market.
Its relationship with Deutsche Bank extends into the German lender’s digital asset plans. Deutsche Bank backed Taurus in a $65 million funding round and has continued working with the Swiss company as part of its institutional crypto custody infrastructure.
Taurus has also built its products across multiple blockchain environments. Taurus-CAPITAL was expanded to Solana in February 2025, allowing banks and financial institutions to issue programmable tokenized assets while Taurus-PROTECT provided custody and staking support.
Banks continue testing tokenized financial infrastructure
Swift’s ledger is entering use as major financial institutions continue experimenting with blockchain-based deposits, securities, and settlement systems.
HSBC completed its first blockchain issuance of a digitally native structured product in July, using tokenized U.S. dollar-denominated notes through a private placement for institutional investors in Hong Kong. The HSBC tokenization pilot used Marketnode to issue the notes on blockchain and manage digital payment flows between the bank and the investor.
Swift’s July rollout placed tokenized deposits specifically at the payment layer. The system was developed to preserve existing compliance, credit, risk, and control standards while making cross-border payments available around the clock, including outside normal banking hours.
Taurus now offers three routes into that infrastructure. Banks without Besu infrastructure can use a managed service operated by Taurus, institutions with their own compatible nodes can connect those systems directly, and existing Taurus-PROTECT customers can extend infrastructure already in production.
The company said Swift smart contracts are integrated with its custody and tokenization products across those configurations, with programmable wallets and compliance controls running above the underlying blockchain infrastructure.
For institutions already using Taurus, connectivity can be established within days. The company expects the first clients to connect shortly, followed by the first DLT transactions using its Swift ledger integration within weeks.
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