Swift, UBS Asset Management and Chainlink Complete Tokenized Fund Settlement Pilot Under MAS' Project Guardian

This initiative uses Swift's global financial messaging network — encompassing over 11,500 institutions — to integrate tokenized fund processes with existing fiat payment systems.

Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) has announced a successful pilot project undertaken by Swift, UBS Asset Management and Chainlink to enable tokenized fund settlement.

This initiative integrates tokenized fund processes with existing fiat payment systems, enabling transactions without blockchain-only payment options.

The project aligns with recent statements from Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov at the Swift-organized Sibos conference on Oct. 23, where he discussed the potential blockchain integration with Swift.

Traditional fund transactions, particularly in redemptions and subscriptions, can be hindered by manual steps and delayed settlements, which add operational costs and impact liquidity.

Swift’s infrastructure allowed real-time fund redemptions and subscriptions for tokenized investment funds to create an automated, cost-efficient and transparent process.

The pilot demonstrates the use of blockchain technology for payment processing “without the need for the global adoption of an on-chain form of payment,” according to the press release.

Nazarov expressed excitement over the adoption of “off-chain payment capabilities” and the way they “will increase the flow of capital.”

This pilot builds on the work of UBS and SBI Digital Markets in creating a Digital Subscription and Redemption system for tokenized funds, as part of MAS’s Project Guardian.

UBS rolled out a tokenized fund on the Ethereum blockchain on Nov. 1, in response to an increasing interest among investors for tokenized financial assets.

The bank launched the money market fund dubbed the “UBS USD Money Market Investment Fund Token,” or “uMINT,” to serve investors’ growing demand.

MAS announced its efforts to advance the commercialization of tokenizing assets, drawing from over 40 institutions to provide guidance through data from more than 15 trials.

Speaking at the first MAS Layer One Summit, MAS deputy managing director Leong Sing Chiong reviewed the successes of the large financial institutions participating in Project Guardian in demonstrating the potential for tokenization in foreign exchange and funds.

Sing Chiong also identified the limitations of those trials:

“Those trials were largely closed-loop exercises, which means that they did not fully test the interoperability aspects of tokenization in the broader financial ecosystem.”