Morning Minute: SWIFT Goes On-chain

The messaging network is adding blockchain to its infrastructure with Consensys' help, prompting speculation that it could build on Ethereum.

By Tyler Warner

5 min read

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors green but pulling back after Monday rally; BTC at $113k
  • SWIFT partners with Consensys to bring payments onchain
  • SEC & CFTC promise closer cooperation in crypto oversight
  • Meteora announces Oct 23 TGE date, shares new airdrop mechanism
  • Andre Cronje raises $200M at $1B valuation for Flying Tulip

🌐 SWIFT Goes Onchain: 24/7 Cross-Border Payments With ConsenSys

One by one the biggest TradFi players in the world are capitulating into crypto.

Last week it was Vanguard, and this week it’s Swift.

📌 What Happened

Yesterday, SWIFT said it will add a blockchain ledger to its infrastructure, starting with a conceptual prototype designed by Consensys.

The first use case is instant, always-on interbank cross-border payments.

SWIFT says the ledger will record, sequence and validate transactions and enforce rules via smart contracts, while interoperating with existing rails and emerging networks.

A coalition of 30+ institutions, including names like Bank of America, Citi and NatWest, is already shaping the build.

It’s not yet specified whether the prototype will anchor to Ethereum mainnet or Linea.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“I’m very pleased to announce that we will add a blockchain-based ledger to our technology infrastructure to allow for trusted movement of tokenised value across the digital ecosystems… In the regulated system of the future, we believe [Swift and blockchain] can [go together]. Banks are ready for it. And they’re asking us to play a bigger role.” - Javier Pérez-Tasso, SWIFT CEO

🧠 Why It Matters

TradFi’s main payment rails are choosing to embed blockchain, effectively acknowledging the tech as a better solution.

If SWIFT can make tokenized-value payments instant and 24/7, and keep compliance, controls, and interoperability, their blockchain solution will become their de facto option with massive cost savings and impacts across financial institutions.

This is very bullish for broader crypto adoption.

The more banks standardize on shared ledgers, the easier it becomes to bridge fiat, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits across markets.

So stablecoins are a big winner, along with the tokenization effort for RWAs.

All of which gives crypto more validity across the U.S. and world.

And of course, it’s very bullish for their blockchain of choice (likely Ethereum or one of its L2s).

If Linea were to win this (Consensys’ blockchain), expect a major repricing. So be on the lookout for more news tied to this story.

And overall, more and more capitulation into crypto and blockchain is happening from the biggest tradfi players in the world. On a near weekly basis…

🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs

In Memes

  • Memecoin leaders are slightly red; DOGE -1%, Shiba -1%, PEPE -1%, PENGU -2%, BONK +1%, TRUMP -3%, SPX -2%, and FARTCOIN -1%
  • Trillions on Plasma peaked near $60M over the weekend before falling to $20M
  • CARDS jumped 38% to $43M on Solana; pibble +670% led top movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

  • Meteora introduced its MET airdrop mechanic as the “Liquidity Distributor,” as recipients will receive LP positions rather than tokens and announced a 10/23 TGE date
  • Andre Cronje’s Flying Tulip raised $200M at an $1B valuation and announced a $FT public sale
  • Pump Fun introduced Advanced for its mobile app, featuring terminal columns and other pro trading tools
  • Polymarket launched mention markets for NFL games starting with last night’s Dolphins Jets game
  • Talus Labs raised $10M+ from Sui & Walrus to build out infra for AI Agents and Prediction Markets
  • Sui’s Bluefin perps dex saw its BLUE token jump 40% in the past week as TVL pushed past $220M and volume neared $80B

🤖 AI x Crypto

Section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:

  • Overall market cap +1% at $17.1B, leaders were mixed
  • FARTCOIN (-1%), VIRTUAL (-2%), TIBBIR (+3%), aixbt (-2%) & ai16z (-2%)
  • BIOS (+50%) and GAME (+12%) led top movers

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

  • ETH NFT leaders were mostly red; Punks -1% at 47.3 ETH, Pudgy -2% at 10, BAYC -1% at 9 ETH
  • Hypurr’s fell 14% from a 1,400 HYPE floor ($65,000) to 1,150 ($52,000) after their first day of trading
  • Punk Strategy acquired its 18th Punk and is nearly 50% of the way to its 19th
  • OpenSea launched all of the NFT Strategy tokens for trading on their platform

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