Regulated Layer One, or RL1, began operations on July 28 as a Luxembourg-based European Cooperative Society owned by 10 financial institutions.
Summary
- Ten institutions launched RL1 as a Luxembourg cooperative for regulated tokenized markets and digital money.
- SWIAT’s production network processed more than 50 transactions worth over €700 million before RL1’s launch.
- NatWest is expected to join shortly, while KfW and L-Bank continue supporting network expansion efforts.
The founding group includes ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures and Seturion.
Former SWIAT managing director Henning Vollbehr will lead the cooperative. RL1 now owns the underlying distributed-ledger network, while SWIAT remains its software supplier and technical operator. The launch announcement did not include a new token, public investment product or regulatory approval for a specific security.
RL1 gives 10 institutions equal governance rights
RL1 says each founding member has an equal vote over network governance and development. The structure includes a general assembly, a supervisory board and an operational management board. The network is private and permissioned, although membership remains open to additional regulated financial-market participants.
The current RL1 participant page lists NatWest as “joining soon” and says the bank will enter in the coming weeks. That is a more concrete update than the launch release, which said discussions were underway. No formal accession date has been published. KfW and L-Bank are supporting the network’s expansion but are not among the 10 institutions named as founding cooperative members.
The site also identifies eight technical operators linked to the existing SWIAT network, including DekaBank, LBBW, SC Ventures and SWIAT. However, it states that migration of those validators to RL1 is still intended. The list should not be treated as confirmation that every operator has completed the transfer.
SWIAT gives RL1 an existing production record
RL1 is based on SWIAT’s production network, which operated for three years before ownership moved to the cooperative. The platform completed more than 50 transactions with a combined value above €700 million, according to the launch statement. Those figures refer to the inherited SWIAT network rather than activity completed by the newly established cooperative after July 28.
SWIAT’s applications, including German electronic securities registry services, remain with SWIAT. The company said those services can migrate to RL1 without changing the software layer. The separation leaves the cooperative owning the common network while SWIAT continues providing technology and operating services.
The arrangement is intended to reduce reliance on separate institutional ledgers that cannot easily exchange assets or settlement instructions. Whether RL1 achieves that goal will depend on additional members, interoperable applications and sustained transaction activity. This is an inference based on the cooperative’s stated objectives. RL1 has not published volume targets or a timetable for moving all existing SWIAT services.
RL1 targets bonds, collateral and digital money
The network is designed to support tokenized bonds, funds, real-world assets, collateral, repo transactions, securities lending and digital money. RL1 also lists stablecoins and commercial or central-bank money among potential settlement tools. These are proposed use cases, not confirmation that every product is already live.
A practical test is expected through KfW’s third blockchain bond. KfW issued the €100 million security in June and plans an autumn migration of its registrar and underlying ledger from Cashlink and Polygon to DekaBank and SWIAT/RL1. KfW also intends to use the Eurosystem’s Pontes infrastructure for later payments, although the migration and Pontes connection have not yet been completed.
ECB settlement plans could shape RL1 adoption
The European Central Bank plans to launch Pontes in the third quarter of 2026. Pontes will connect market DLT platforms with the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services so tokenized transactions can settle in central-bank money. The longer-term Appia program is expected to produce a blueprint for an integrated European tokenized financial ecosystem by 2028.
As crypto.news reported, the ECB views central-bank money as a necessary settlement anchor for tokenized securities, deposits and stablecoins. In related coverage, crypto.news reported that RL1 member Seturion is building blockchain settlement links with Société Générale and SG-FORGE.
RL1’s claim that it will become “the connecting infrastructure for Europe’s digital financial market” remains forward-looking. Its next measurable steps are NatWest’s formal admission, validator and application migrations, KfW’s autumn bond test and technical connectivity with Pontes. No deadlines have been announced for broader membership or commercial-scale transaction targets, and no verified market-price reaction followed the cooperative’s launch.
