European Institutions Roll Out RL1 Blockchain Network

Ten European financial institutions have launched Regulated Layer One (RL1), a permissioned blockchain cooperative aimed at supporting regulated capital markets and tokenized assets. The network was established as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg and has started operations with an initial group of founding members.

RL1 announced that its governance model gives each founding institution equal decision-making rights over the network’s development. The cooperative is positioned as shared infrastructure for institutional workflows that typically rely on separate distributed ledgers, with the stated goal of reducing fragmentation across financial networks.

Key takeaways

• RL1 has been incorporated in Luxembourg as a European Cooperative Society and is already operating with founding institutions.
• ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures, and Seturion are the initial members.
• The permissioned network is built on infrastructure developed by SWIAT, which transferred ownership to the cooperative.
• SWIAT said the underlying platform processed 50+ transactions worth more than €700 million during three years of production use.
• RL1 is designed to support institutional applications such as tokenized bonds, collateral, and blockchain-based settlement.

A cooperative built for regulated tokenization

According to RL1’s announcement, the initiative is intended to serve regulated financial markets and tokenized asset use cases. The cooperative’s structure is designed to align governance with participating institutions, with each member holding equal decision-making rights for RL1’s network direction.

Among the founding organizations named by RL1 are major banks and capital market entities across Europe, including ABN AMRO, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, and NatWest is mentioned as an institution RL1 is currently in discussions with regarding joining. The list also includes Cecabank and Chartered Investment, as well as SC Ventures and Seturion.

From SWIAT infrastructure to RL1 ownership

RL1’s technical foundation traces back to infrastructure developed by German fintech Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer (SWIAT). RL1 said SWIAT has transferred ownership of the network to the cooperative, moving the platform from a fintech-led build to an institution-led shared asset layer.

SWIAT also provided performance context for the underlying platform. The company said it has processed more than 50 transactions totaling over €700 million (about $808 million) during three years of production use. For investors and market participants, this kind of prior operational record matters because permissioned blockchain deployments in finance often face scrutiny around scalability, reliability, and throughput under real-world conditions—areas that are difficult to assess without production history.

Why RL1 is positioning itself as shared settlement infrastructure

RL1 described the network as permissioned and geared toward institutional workflows. The stated target applications include digital money, tokenized bonds, collateral management, and blockchain-based settlement.

A central theme in RL1’s framing is interoperability within regulated environments. RL1 said that having a shared network could help reduce fragmentation that can occur when different financial institutions operate separate distributed ledger systems. In practice, this addresses a common friction point in tokenization efforts: without shared standards or compatible infrastructures, value transfer and settlement can become siloed across networks, complicating liquidity and operational integration.

RL1’s coop governance structure is also designed to reinforce this “shared infrastructure” approach. Rather than relying on a single operator, the cooperative model gives participating institutions equal say in governance and ongoing development, which RL1 suggests is intended to support long-term adoption across a wider group of market players.

Leadership and funding support

RL1 named Henning Vollbehr, former SWIAT Managing Director, as the network’s leader. KfW and L-Bank will continue supporting the initiative, RL1 said, indicating that development backing is expected to remain in place as the cooperative transitions from launch to broader deployment.

RL1 also said it is discussing additional institutional partners, including NatWest, about joining the network. The ability to onboard more institutions will likely be a key checkpoint for the project: the value of a permissioned network grows with participation, and RL1’s ambition to support settlement and tokenized financial instruments depends on whether additional banks, investors, or market infrastructure providers choose to integrate.

As RL1 begins operations, market observers will likely watch for concrete milestones beyond launch—such as which tokenized asset workflows the network will prioritize first, how quickly new institutions join, and whether the cooperative can convert its production track record from SWIAT into expanding real-world use across regulated markets.