The project will connect SWIFT’s network to nearly every blockchain to allow traditional finance players access to digital and traditional assets on the one network.
SWIFT and Symbiont announce corporate data blockchain pilot
The message-system processes over five billion transactions a year and seeks to maintain its relevance by integrating disruptive technologies to its business.
WEF 2022: SWIFT probably won’t exist in 5 years, says Mastercard CEO
Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard told an audience of blockchain executives that he expects SWIFT to phase out of existence in as little as five years’ time.
SWIFT, Capgemini team up to test using the international network for CBDC transfers
The bank messaging service, which dates back to the 1970s, is looking to connect CBDCs to each other and to traditional currencies as it tries to stay up to date.
Data Show Rubble-Denominated Crypto Pairs Are Spiking
Russian rubles are now flooding into Tether, while rubble-denominated crypto pairs are on the rise on major crypto exchanges.
Between February 20 and February 28, Bitcoin volume surged by 243%, from 522 to 1,792 BTC traded via Binance’s BTC/RUB combo.
A Russian government study claimed Russians held 2 trillion rubles ($20 billion) in cryptocurrencies.
Related Article | Bitcoin Staggers After Putin’s Nuclear Deterrence Alert Warning
Rubble-Denominated Crypto Pairs Surge
On February 28, a tremendous spike in the volume of the ruble pairings in Binance, especially in USDT, became apparent, with the USDTRUB volume reaching a new all-time high of $35 million.
The amount of bitcoin has also increased significantly. These surges in volume could imply that Russians are looking into the price stable crypto-tokens to gain dollar exposure ahead of potential sanctions against Russian crypto dealers.
On the other hand, the growing volumes could result from market makers trying to get rid of their ruble exposure. Because of circumstantial differences, Ukrainians seek crypto exposure in these uncertain times.
On SWIFT And Russian Reserves
According to financial commentator Charles Archer, cutting Russia off from the international SWIFT payment network “has rendered Russia’s $630 billion reserves, which are primarily held in foreign currency, worthless.”
Furthermore, when it comes to Ukrainian hryvnia swaps, USDT, BTC, and ETH are all still trading at a premium on the Kuna exchange.
The volume of deals on the Ukrainian local Bitcoins exchange has increased marginally from the previous week, and BTC is now selling for a premium in hryvnia trades.
Total crypto market cap at $1.894 trillion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
Related Article | Criminal Whales Hold $25 Billion In Crypto Assets: Chainalysis Report
USDT/RUB Swaps
Binance recorded a total volume of $16,871,804 USDT/RUB trades, $5,740,109 BTC/RUB exchanges, and $3,429,714 ether swaps with the ruble in the last 24 hours.
The Russian currency is Tether’s (USDT) sixth most traded pair, according to cryptocompare.com trading pair analytics on Tuesday.
USDT/RUB trades accounted for 2.05% of global tether trading during the previous day.
Tether (USDT) has a present value of $1.0004 with a 0.0137% increase throughout 24 hours. It has a market capitalization of $79.475B alongside a circulating supply of about USDT 79.442B at the time of writing.
Ruble/BTC Trading Up
The volume of Bitcoin in ruble (RUB) reached approximately 1.5 billion RUB on Thursday, according to data compiled by Kaiko, a cryptocurrency research firm located in Paris.
Trading volumes between the Russian ruble and bitcoin hit a nine-month high as the country’s fiat currency plummeted to new lows after the Ukraine invasion.
Meanwhile, Tether-ruble and tether-hryvnia trading volumes both showed similar patterns.
According to Bloomberg data, the Russian currency fell more than 8% to RUB 90 per US dollar last week and lost another 28% Wednesday morning, reaching a new low of 118 per dollar.
Featured image from The Independent, chart from TradingView.com
3 reasons why Bitcoin price rallied toward $45K entering March
The gains accompanied a sharp overnight spike in the number of Bitcoin whale addresses.
EU Commission to remove Russian banks from SWIFT cross-border network
While condemning the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s move to lay siege across Ukraine, the EU Commission committed to undertake a series of measures to isolate Russia from the international financial system.
China’s Central Bank Is Partnering With SWIFT on a New Joint Venture
It’s unclear what the new group’s mission will be, though People’s Bank of China employees working on its digital currency efforts will be involved.
Digital Currencies May Make SWIFT Redundant, Says Russian Central Bank: Report
Digital currencies may challenge and someday could make redundant the SWIFT global banking payment system, according to a Central Bank of Russia official, Russia Today reported. Read more: Bank of Russia Chair: Digital Ruble Is No Threat to Banks
‘Great Artists Steal’ – What Enterprise Blockchain Can Learn From the Past
Enterprise blockchain doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel: Communications standards in use for decades are built for machine-to-machine commerce.
Crypto ‘Gray’ Markets Could Be Unintended Consequence of FATF Travel Rule
Clean bitcoin, dirty bitcoin. Could FATF regulations lead to a bifurcation of the crypto space, one where certain digital assets trade at lower prices?
Crypto Exchanges Need Common Messaging to Comply With Travel Rule
From ATMs to cargo containers, standards make global commerce work. The same goes for crypto, which needs standards to comply with anti-money laundering rules.
Wells Fargo’s Stablecoin ‘Faster, Cheaper’ Than SWIFT, Says Exec
Wells Fargo’s innovation lead says the bank’s new digital cash for internal transfers is faster and more efficient than SWIFT.
Japan Has FATF Green Light to Create ‘SWIFT Network’ for Crypto: Report
Japan is said to be leading the creation of an international cryptocurrency payments network similar to banking network SWIFT.
SWIFT Gives Blockchain Platforms Access to ‘Instant’ GPI Payments Following R3 Trial
Interbank messaging giant SWIFT will soon allow DLT-based trade platforms to make use of its GPI platform for traceable, near-instant payments.
EU Blockchain Group Launches With SWIFT, Ripple Onboard
Over 100 firms including SWIFT, IBM and Ripple have joined a blockchain association officially launched by the European Commission on Wednesday.
SWIFT Teams Up With Major Banks, SGX to Trial Blockchain Voting
Financial messaging giant Swift has teamed up with Singapore Exchange and several major banks to trial a DLT platform for shareholder voting.
SWIFT Chief Announces Integration With R3 At Paris Fintech Forum
Global banking payments network SWIFT intends to integrate technology from R3, its CEO said at an event today.
How Blockchain Can Finally Fulfill Its Promise in Global Payments
Several leading institutions are working towards producing tokenized digital central bank money, a more viable approach than unbacked crypto-assets.
HSBC Exec Warns ‘Digital Islands’ Could Inhibit Blockchain Trade
Blockchains should do for the global value chain what shipping containers did for transport of goods, says HSBC trade finance expert Vinay Mendonca.