European Banks Form RL1 Blockchain Cooperative for Regulated Markets

Ten European financial institutions have formally launched Regulated Layer One (RL1), a jointly owned blockchain network built to serve regulated financial markets and support tokenized assets.

Founding Members and Structure

The cooperative began operations on Tuesday, registered as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg. Founding members include ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures and Seturion. Each participant holds equal voting power over how the network is governed and developed going forward.

Built on Existing SWIAT Infrastructure

The private, permissioned network runs on technology originally built by German fintech SWIAT (Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer), which has now handed ownership of the platform to the new cooperative. According to SWIAT, the system has already completed more than 50 transactions totaling over 700 million euros, roughly $808 million, across three years of live use.

Use Cases and Future Growth

RL1 is intended to support digital money, tokenized bonds, collateral management and blockchain-based settlement for institutions. The group says a shared network could cut down on the fragmentation caused by banks running separate blockchain systems individually. Former SWIAT chief Henning Vollbehr now leads RL1, while KfW and L-Bank remain involved as supporters. The cooperative is also in talks with other institutions, including NatWest, about joining.