By Anders Bylund
Publication Date: 2026-09-24 20:49:00
Let’s talk about international payments. I have news for you, courtesy of International Business Machines (IBM -2.45%), but a tiny history lesson seems appropriate first.
The Swift cooperative was founded in 1973 because banks wanted something better than Telex — a clunky international messaging system from the 1930s that just happened to handle payments. Swift didn’t invent new money. It just gave banks a better way to talk to each other across national borders.
Half a century later, Swift is pulling the same trick again. Blockchain technology was supposed to make it obsolete, but the group made it work with banks instead. On Sept. 24, IBM showed up with the adapter cables: its Digital Asset Haven platform can now plug into Swift’s shared blockchain ledger, where 17 pilot institutions are moving tokenized deposits around the clock.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Bad news for the bridge
Big Blue’s involvement is potentially bad news for XRP (XRP +3.35%) and its investors.
The…
