Ten European Financial Institutions Launch RL1 Blockchain Cooperative

Ten major European financial institutions have launched a jointly owned blockchain cooperative and started operations.

Cointelegraph reported on July 28 that Regulated Layer One, or RL1, was formally established in Luxembourg as a European cooperative society by 10 founding institutions: ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Credit Mutuel Alliance Federale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures and SETL.

RL1 is a permissioned private blockchain network designed for regulated financial markets and tokenized assets. Each founding member has equal voting rights on the network's governance and development.

The network infrastructure was developed by German fintech firm SWIAT, short for Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer. SWIAT transferred ownership of the network to the cooperative. The company said the platform has processed more than 50 transactions worth 700 million euros, or about $808 million, over three years of live operations.

RL1 is targeting institutional finance use cases including digital currency, tokenized bonds, collateral management and blockchain-based settlement. The shared network is intended to address fragmentation caused by financial institutions operating separate distributed ledger systems.

Former SWIAT Chief Executive Officer Henning Vollbehr will serve as RL1's chief executive. KfW and L-Bank will continue to support the initiative, and RL1 is in talks with additional institutions, including NatWest, about joining the network.