Ten major European financial institutions have formally launched Regulated Layer One (RL1), an open, neutral, and compliance-optimized distributed ledger technology network created specifically for the European financial sector. Established as a European Cooperative Society (Société Coopérative Européenne or SCE) headquartered in Luxembourg, RL1 aims to overcome the current fragmentation of institutional blockchain platforms by creating a shared, member-owned financial utility. Henning Vollbehr, former Managing Director of German fintech SWIAT, has been appointed Managing Director of the new cooperative entity.
The founding members of the cooperative include ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures, and Seturion. German promotional banks KfW and L-Bank continue to actively support the initiative following their involvement in earlier development phases, while concrete discussions regarding expansion are currently underway with several additional European institutions, including NatWest. Under the SCE governance framework, all participating members hold equal decision-making rights, ensuring that no single institution exercises disproportionate control over the permissioned network.
Transitioning SWIAT Infrastructure into a Pan-European Utility
The technical foundation of the RL1 Network is built upon SWIAT’s production-grade blockchain platform, which has now been transferred to the ownership of the cooperative. Having operated in production for three years, the underlying ledger has successfully processed over 50 institutional transactions with a combined settlement volume exceeding EUR 700 million. Software compatibility enables immediate deployment of live financial use cases, including the issuance and settlement of digital bonds.
While the core blockchain network transitions to the cooperative, SWIAT GmbH will retain its application ecosystem, including its regulated registry services operated under the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG). These existing registry applications and digital asset solutions will seamlessly transition to run on top of the shared RL1 infrastructure. By separating base-layer ledger operations from higher-level financial applications, RL1 establishes an open environment where member banks can build, deploy, and scale proprietary digital solutions while adhering to standardized technical protocols.
Addressing Fragmentation in Regulated Digital Capital Markets
The launch of RL1 comes at a critical juncture as tokenization transitions from isolated proof-of-concept projects toward scalable, production-grade capital market infrastructure. Recent European central banking initiatives, stablecoin frameworks, tokenized money market funds, and digital collateral platforms have highlighted the urgent industry need for interoperable settlement rails that conform strictly to European regulatory and IT compliance standards.
As a permissioned and interoperable network, RL1 connects assets, services, and access points across multiple jurisdictions. Operating as a unified, member-governed financial infrastructure, the cooperative provides European institutions with a compliant pathway to move away from siloed tokenization pilots and toward an integrated, highly liquid digital asset ecosystem.
