IBM announced on September 24, 2026, the introduction of two features aimed at improving digital asset services for financial institutions and other regulated organizations. The company’s Digital Asset Haven now offers a beta connection to Swift's blockchain-based shared ledger, enabling institutions to conduct tokenized deposit transactions. Additionally, IBM is providing an on-premises beta deployment option for Digital Asset Haven, allowing clients to manage their digital asset operations within their own data centers.

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According to J.P. Morgan Payments, 93% of financial institutions are currently modernizing their payments infrastructure as they seek to enhance cross-border money transfers and manage a rising number of digital assets. This modernization is prompting a demand for robust infrastructure that meets the security and compliance needs of banks.

With the latest updates, IBM Digital Asset Haven allows clients to utilize Swift's shared ledger, which connects around 12,500 financial institutions globally. Through this integration, institutions can use standard ISO 20022 messages for tokenized deposits, allowing them to seamlessly integrate with existing operational processes. The shared ledger facilitates bank-issued tokenized deposits and enables participating institutions to transfer digital assets continuously while maintaining compliance with established banking standards.

The Swift shared ledger, announced at Sibos 2025 and developed with input from over 40 financial institutions, has already been piloted by 17 institutions successfully testing tokenized deposits. This demonstrates the ledger's capability to support new digital transaction models while adhering to existing compliance mechanisms.

In addition to the connection with Swift, the on-premises deployment of IBM Digital Asset Haven allows organizations to manage digital assets like stablecoins entirely within their internal infrastructures. This deployment option runs on IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE systems without relying on public cloud services.

IBM designed this on-premises solution to enhance client control while ensuring high performance and security for digital asset transactions. Key features include:

- Client-controlled deployment with full management of both application and key layers.

- Hardware-backed security that employs IBM Crypto Express HSMs to protect keys.

- Structured processes for key generation and management, offering regulatory documentation support.

- Consistent user experience across different deployment models, allowing easy transition between cloud and on-premises.

Tom McPherson, General Manager of IBM Z and LinuxONE, emphasized the evolving landscape of the financial services industry and the necessity for infrastructure capable of managing both tokenized and traditional assets. He stated that IBM's enhancements aim to help institutions seamlessly navigate emerging digital networks while maintaining critical operational controls.

For more details about the integration with Swift or to join the waitlist for the on-premises beta, institutions are encouraged to reach out directly to IBM.