Pundit Says Chainlink, Not XRP, Is Better Positioned to Work with SWIFT

Chainlink advocate Zack Rynes recently claimed that Chainlink holds a stronger position than XRP when it comes to working with SWIFT

In a recent post, Rynes argued that while many proponents in the XRP community expect XRP to replace or complement SWIFT, the reality is different

Chainlink Advocate Comes for XRP

In a separate statement, he again said Chainlink now delivers what many once expected from XRP. He highlighted that top global financial institutions, including SWIFT, the DTCC, Mastercard, central banks, and major asset managers, already work with Chainlink. According to him, this level of adoption puts Chainlink in a far stronger position.

However, one XRP proponent ascribed Rynes’ recent statements to the latest instance of attacks on XRP from other crypto communities. He suggested that this happens because XRP is on the brink of a breakthrough. To him, the fact that everyone keeps talking about XRP shows its importance.

Is XRP Overvalued?

Meanwhile, Dom Kwok, co-founder of EasyA, joined the discussion with a response to crypto influencer Ansem, who recently suggested that Chainlink is what Ripple would be if it actually worked.

Dom said he has seen Ripple’s technology work in real-world applications but has never seen Chainlink in action or met developers actively building with it. According to him, spending time directly with builders gives a clearer view of which technology actually works on the ground.

Chainlink and SWIFT Partnership Progresses

Notably, it is important to note that Chainlink’s work with SWIFT has progressed well since 2016. The pace picked up in recent years

In November 2022, at Chainlink’s SmartCon conference, both parties announced a proof-of-concept that used Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to let SWIFT’s traditional messages interact with multiple blockchains. By May 2023, tests with BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon successfully moved tokenized assets across different chains.

In May 2024, during the Consensys conference in Austin, SWIFT’s head of securities strategy and Chainlink’s co-founder discussed how their work could unlock tokenized assets at scale.

That November, SWIFT, UBS Asset Management, and Chainlink completed a pilot to settle tokenized funds. By late 2024, Chainlink founder Sergey Nazarov announced new milestones, including converting SWIFT’s transaction messages into blockchain events for tokenized assets and CBDCs.

In this partnership, Chainlink provides the technology to connect different blockchains and convert SWIFT messages into secure, automated blockchain processes. This interoperability allows financial institutions to communicate and transfer assets across networks without friction.

XRP and the XRPL are Still Relevant

Despite this, the collaboration does not automatically push XRP or the XRPL out of the picture. Chainlink’s strength lies in messaging and interoperability, while XRP’s advantage is in fast, low-cost settlement and liquidity for cross-border payments

While it is not the only platform for this purpose, the XRPL could still serve as a bridge currency, offer liquidity for less common fiat pairs, and help settle CBDCs and stablecoins between different systems.

Essentially, rather than competing for the same role, the two projects could complement each other. Chainlink can handle the messaging layer, while XRP can deliver the settlement speed and cost efficiency. In fact, SWIFT’s use of Chainlink actually makes adoption of the XRPL easier. Ripple has even partnered with Chainlink for its RLUSD stablecoin.