- One of the largest inststances of banks using blockchain infrastructure for tokenized assets, digital money and institutional financial services.
- RL1 is registered as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg.
A group of 10 European financial institutions have launched Regulated Layer One (RL1), a member-owned blockchain network designed for regulated financial markets. The cooperative has been established as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg and will provide shared blockchain infrastructure for tokenized assets, digital money, and other institutional financial services. This initiative represents a significant advancement among banks using blockchain technology.
According to the official website, the founding members include ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures and Seturion. Under the cooperative structure, each member will have equal voting rights over the network’s governance and future development.
RL1 is built on distributed ledger technology developed by German fintech SWIAT. Ownership of the production network has now transferred from SWIAT to the cooperative. According to the organizations, the network has been operating for three years and has processed more than 50 transactions worth over €700 million.
New Blockchain Network Targets Tokenized Bonds
The permissioned blockchain is intended for regulated financial institutions. It supports use cases including tokenized bonds, digital money, collateral management and blockchain-based settlement. RL1 said a shared network could help reduce fragmentation created by separate blockchain platforms operated by individual financial institutions.
Henning Vollbehr, formerly Managing Director of SWIAT, will lead RL1 as Managing Director of the cooperative.
“RL1 is the result of our collective work and the evolution of SWIAT…Going forward, RL1 will serve as the connecting infrastructure for Europe’s digital financial market, enabling participating institutions to move from isolated tokenization initiatives to an integrated, liquid, and scalable capital market ecosystem.”
– Henning Vollbehr
The network aims to facilitate collaboration among banks using blockchain for enhanced efficiency.
Henning Vollbehr emphasized the importance of aligning goals among banks using blockchain to create a unified approach.
KfW and L-Bank will continue supporting the initiative, while RL1 said it is in discussions with additional financial institutions, including NatWest, about joining the cooperative. This model is expected to attract more banks using blockchain to participate and innovate.
The launch comes as financial institutions increase work on tokenized assets and blockchain-based settlement systems. RL1 said recent developments, including digital bonds, stablecoins, tokenized money market funds and central bank initiatives, highlight the need for shared infrastructure that regulated institutions can use together.
The cooperative said its member-owned governance model is intended to ensure that no single institution controls the network while allowing participants to develop common standards for blockchain-based financial services. The launch reflects a broader trend of banks using blockchain technology for more efficient asset management.