This article was first published on TurkishNYR.
For years, many banks treated blockchain like a lab experiment, something to test in controlled environments and then shelve when the real world felt too messy.
That posture is changing, not because banks suddenly became crypto-native, but because payment expectations and asset markets have moved on. Clients now expect money and markets to behave like the internet, always on, fast, and verifiable, even when the calendar says it is a weekend.
This is where blockchain infrastructure stops being a buzzword and starts looking like plumbing. When the pipes are outdated, everything downstream gets slower, costlier, and harder to scale. In 2026, banks are increasingly being pushed toward new rails that can support tokenized value, stablecoin settlement, and round-the-clock cross-border flows, without breaking compliance.
The 24/7 payment expectation is no longer optional
Traditional cross-border transfers were built for a world of banking hours, batch processing, and reconciliations that could take days. That world is fading.
A notable signal came when SWIFT announced plans to add a blockchain-based shared ledger to its infrastructure, with an initial use case focused on real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments. SWIFT also said it kicked off work with a group of more than 30 financial institutions globally and would work with Consensys on a conceptual prototype.
That matters because SWIFT is not a niche player experimenting on the fringes. It sits at the center of global messaging and coordination between banks. A move like this is less about hype and more about acknowledging a structural demand: cross-border payments increasingly need to operate continuously, and tokenized forms of regulated value are becoming part of the conversation.
Visa delivered another concrete marker in December 2025. The company announced USDC settlement in the United States, saying it had more than $3.5B in annualized stablecoin settlement volume and that U.S. issuer and acquirer partners could settle with Visa in USDC. Visa also named initial banking participants and said broader availability in the U.S. is planned through 2026.
The takeaway is straightforward: major payment networks are normalizing stablecoin settlement as a treasury and settlement tool, and that pulls banks into the same direction, whether they love crypto culture or not.
Tokenization is pulling banks toward shared rails, not isolated sandboxes
Tokenization is often described with flashy examples, such as real estate or art, but the more consequential angle for banks is simpler: tokenization can reduce friction in settlement, collateral movement, and post-trade workflows. The Bank for International Settlements has been explicit about the direction of travel.
In its 2025 annual report section on the next-generation monetary and financial system, the BIS described how a next-generation correspondent banking system could leverage tokenisation and a “unified ledger” to streamline cross-border payments by bringing together tokenised forms of central bank and commercial bank money for payment instructions, settlement, and post-transaction monitoring.
In parallel, the BIS Innovation Hub’s Project Agorá describes work exploring tokenisation for wholesale cross-border payments, using technologies such as smart contracts, with the goal of a system that is faster, more transparent, and more accessible than the current model.
This is the institutional version of an everyday lesson: when many participants need to coordinate, closed systems become bottlenecks. Private, isolated networks can be useful for testing, but they struggle when assets and liquidity need to move across organizations, jurisdictions, and platforms.
Privacy and compliance are evolving, and the “public versus private” debate is getting outdated
Banks do not adopt infrastructure just because it is efficient. They adopt it when it is auditable, governable, and defensible to regulators. That is why privacy and compliance tools are central to the new wave of blockchain design.
This is also where modern cryptography, especially zero-knowledge proofs, is often discussed as a bridge. The practical idea is that an institution can prove a rule was followed, such as eligibility checks or sanctions screening, without revealing the underlying sensitive data to every participant on a network.
In a banking context, this is less about secrecy for its own sake and more about minimizing data exposure while maintaining verifiability.
A useful mental model is the difference between showing an entire passport to buy a plane ticket versus proving eligibility without photocopying personal details for everyone in the room. The direction is the same: reduce unnecessary disclosure while keeping oversight intact.
The new blueprint looks like public-grade technology with bank-grade controls
The infrastructure banks appear to be moving toward tends to share a few traits. It aims for interoperability with broader digital asset ecosystems, while still supporting permissioning, governance, identity, and operational resilience. It also assumes continuous operation, not just the workweek rhythm that defined earlier payment systems.
Even Visa framed its stablecoin settlement approach in terms of seven-day availability, modernized treasury operations, and interoperability between traditional payment rails and blockchain-based infrastructure.
That framing is important for readers trying to understand what is changing. The story is not that banks are turning into crypto exchanges. The story is that banks are redesigning their back-end rails so they can settle value faster, manage liquidity more efficiently, and interact with tokenized assets without building a bespoke stack for every new use case.
Key crypto indicators that will signal whether this shift is real
The infrastructure narrative sounds abstract until it shows up in measurable signals. Several indicators tend to reveal whether banks and large networks are truly moving from pilots to production.
Stablecoin settlement usage is one of the clearest. When a major payment network reports $3.5B in annualized stablecoin settlement volume and expands access to domestic institutions, it suggests stablecoins are being treated as a serious settlement instrument rather than a retail novelty.
Another indicator is institutional cross-border modernization. When SWIFT says it is adding a blockchain-based shared ledger with a first focus on real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments, it implies that always-on settlement is becoming a baseline expectation at the infrastructure layer, not just a feature request.
A third indicator is tokenization policy language from global standard setters. The BIS discussion of tokenisation and a unified ledger for correspondent banking signals that central institutions are thinking in terms of integrated platforms rather than isolated rails.
Finally, regulatory treatment of stablecoins and bank exposures matters more than social media excitement ever will. When capital and prudential rules tighten or clarify, banks gain clearer boundaries for what is permissible at scale.
Regulation and risk controls are shaping what banks can build
Banks live inside rulebooks. Those rulebooks are catching up to stablecoins and crypto exposures, and that directly influences infrastructure decisions.
The Basel Committee’s “Cryptoasset standard amendments” document states that the final revised standard is agreed to be implemented by 1 January 2026. It also highlights amendments related to stablecoin reserve asset requirements and other diligence and disclosure considerations.
For stablecoins specifically, the Basel text discusses asset quality and liquidity expectations for reserve assets, as well as governance, transparency, and regular disclosure requirements, including frequent disclosure of reserve composition and independent verification and audit expectations.
This kind of detail matters because it pushes the industry toward stablecoin designs that can survive stress, scrutiny, and operational failure scenarios. Banks will not build settlement rails on top of instruments that cannot demonstrate credible redemption mechanics, resilient custody, and transparent reserve management.
Conclusion
Banks are not upgrading blockchain infrastructure to chase trends. They are doing it because payments are moving toward 24/7 expectations, tokenization is pushing markets toward shared rails, and major networks and standard setters are building the conceptual framework for always-on, programmable settlement.
SWIFT’s shared ledger initiative and Visa’s expansion of USDC settlement provide tangible signals that the industry is stepping beyond experimentation.
The next chapter will be defined less by slogans and more by execution: operational resilience, compliance-ready privacy, interoperable design, and rules that make large-scale participation possible. For crypto, that is not a side story. It is the infrastructure story that can quietly reshape liquidity, settlement, and adoption across 2026.
FAQs
What does “bank blockchain infrastructure” actually mean?
It usually refers to the systems banks use to issue, move, settle, and reconcile tokenized value, including stablecoins, tokenized deposits, or tokenized securities. It also includes identity, compliance controls, governance, and operational resilience that make those systems safe to run at scale.
Why are banks focused on 24/7 settlement now?
Customer expectations have shifted, and global commerce does not pause for weekends. SWIFT has highlighted real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments as the first use case for its planned shared digital ledger, reflecting that always-on settlement is becoming a core infrastructure requirement.
Are stablecoins becoming part of mainstream settlement?
Evidence suggests they are increasingly being used in settlement workflows. Visa has said it has more than $3.5B in annualized stablecoin settlement volume and is bringing USDC settlement to U.S. institutions, with broader availability planned through 2026.
Does tokenization mean banks will put everything on public blockchains?
Not necessarily. Many designs aim to combine interoperability with controlled access, governance, and privacy. The direction described by institutions such as the BIS emphasizes tokenization and unified ledgers to streamline cross-border payments, which can be implemented with different architectural choices.
How do regulations affect what banks can build in crypto?
Regulations and prudential standards influence capital treatment, permissible exposures, reserve quality expectations for stablecoins, disclosure rules, and operational requirements. The Basel Committee has published amendments to its cryptoasset exposure standard with implementation targeted for 1 January 2026.
Glossary of Key Terms
Stablecoin: A digital token designed to maintain a stable value, often pegged to a currency like the U.S. dollar, typically supported by reserve assets.
USDC: A U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin referenced in payment network settlement initiatives, where partners can settle obligations using USDC.
Layer 2 (L2): A scaling system that runs on top of a base blockchain to increase throughput and reduce costs, often used to support higher transaction volume.
Permissioned network: A blockchain environment where participation is restricted to approved entities, often used to meet compliance and governance requirements.
Zero-knowledge proof: A cryptographic method that can prove a statement is true without revealing the underlying private data, often discussed for compliance-friendly privacy.
Tokenization: The process of representing real-world value, such as deposits, securities, or other assets, as digital tokens that can be transferred and settled programmatically.
Unified ledger: A concept discussed by the BIS that brings tokenized forms of central bank and commercial bank money into a system that can handle payment instructions, settlement, and monitoring in a more integrated way.
Correspondent banking: A system where banks rely on partner banks to process payments and provide services in other jurisdictions, often associated with slower cross-border settlement.
KYC and AML: “Know Your Customer” and “Anti-Money Laundering” controls used to verify identity and prevent illicit finance, central to bank compliance frameworks.
