European financial institutions launch RL1 cooperative blockchain network

cointelegraphPublished on 2026-07-29Last updated on 2026-07-29

Abstract

Ten major European financial institutions have launched the Regulated Layer One (RL1) blockchain cooperative, established as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg. This jointly owned, private permissioned network is designed for regulated financial markets and tokenized assets like digital money, bonds, and collateral. Founding members include ABN AMRO, Crédit Mutuel, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, and others, each with equal governance rights. The network is based on infrastructure from German fintech SWIAT, which transferred ownership to the cooperative. The platform has already processed over 50 transactions worth more than €700 million in production. RL1 aims to reduce fragmentation by providing a shared ledger for institutional use and settlement, with former SWIAT managing director Henning Vollbehr at the helm. Discussions with additional institutions, including NatWest, are underway.

Ten European financial institutions have launched Regulated Layer One (RL1), a jointly owned blockchain cooperative designed for regulated financial markets and tokenized assets.

On Tuesday, the group announced that RL1 had been established as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg and had begun operations with founding members including ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures and Seturion.

RL1 said each member will have equal decision-making rights over the network’s governance and development.

The private, permissioned network is based on infrastructure developed by German fintech Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer (SWIAT), which has now transferred ownership of the network to the cooperative.

SWIAT said the platform has processed more than 50 transactions worth over 700 million euros (about $808 million) during three years of production use.

The blockchain is designed to support institutional use cases including digital money, tokenized bonds, collateral and blockchain-based settlement. RL1 said the shared network could reduce fragmentation caused by financial institutions operating separate distributed ledger systems.

Former SWIAT managing director Henning Vollbehr will lead RL1. KfW and L-Bank will continue supporting the initiative, while RL1 said it is in discussions with additional institutions, including NatWest, about joining the network.

Related: CoinShares debuts Bitcoin mining ETF in Europe entrance

Related Questions

QWhat is the name of the newly launched blockchain cooperative network and what is its primary purpose?

AThe network is called Regulated Layer One (RL1). Its primary purpose is to serve as a jointly owned blockchain cooperative designed for regulated financial markets and tokenized assets.

QHow many European financial institutions are founding members of the RL1 network, and can you name at least five of them?

AThere are ten founding European financial institutions. Examples include ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, and Natixis CIB.

QWhat is the governance structure of the RL1 blockchain network?

AEach member of the RL1 cooperative has equal decision-making rights over the network's governance and development.

QWhat company originally developed the infrastructure for RL1, and what key statistics were provided about its prior performance?

AThe infrastructure was originally developed by the German fintech Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer (SWIAT). SWIAT stated that its platform processed more than 50 transactions worth over 700 million euros (about $808 million) during three years of production use.

QWhat are some of the institutional use cases RL1 is designed to support, and what benefit does it claim to offer financial institutions?

ARL1 is designed to support use cases including digital money, tokenized bonds, collateral, and blockchain-based settlement. It claims the shared network could reduce fragmentation caused by financial institutions operating separate distributed ledger systems.

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