Anil Oncu, CEO of Bitpace, explores why 2025 was a definitive turning point for blockchain integration and what the financial landscape requires in 2026.
SWIFT’s September announcement that it will weave blockchain connectivity into its core network was framed as a breakthrough. In truth, it was perhaps closer to an admission that legacy rails can no longer meet the demands of modern commerce and are playing catch-up with newer, innovative solutions. Payment solutions must be instant, programmable, and borderless.
The shift is being driven not just by technological ambition but by the basic realities of modern commerce. Global ecommerce, instant payroll, on-demand supply chains, and API-driven financial services all require money to move with the same speed as data. Consumers expect the ability to move funds across borders with a single tap, and businesses rely on automated workflows where settlement triggers inventory updates, credit decisions, or contract execution.
For decades, SWIFT juggled messages while funds moved across a web of banks, intermediaries, and reconciliation steps. That architecture simply cannot compete with rails, where settlement is measured in seconds, liquidity is interchangeable across networks, and capital can move instantly across borders without the drag of legacy infrastructure. As regulated stablecoins surge past the USD 300 billion mark and become credible settlement assets for real-world commerce, the pressure on banks, card schemes, and market infrastructures is changing the financial landscape.
This is why SWIFT’s move matters, signalling just how far behind legacy systems have fallen. The real transformation is happening in treasuries quietly experimenting with tokenised liquidity, in interoperability standards that create global, always-on payment routes in compliance frameworks that are migrating on-chain. These are the foundations of the 2026 financial landscape.
We’re likely to see three things happen in the year ahead.
1. Stablecoins overtake legacy rails for sub-USD10k cross-border flows
Small-value international payments have become the early territory where decentralised settlement overwhelmingly outperforms traditional systems. Businesses and consumers are bypassing traditional banking solutions to avoid multi-day delays, opaque FX spreads, and high fees. The always-on, transparent, and predictable convenience of sending tokenised dollars directly has set expectations that legacy systems cannot meet. By the end of the year, stablecoins could be the default choice for a growing share of cross-border commerce.
2. Tokenised liquidity forces banks to rethink treasury, FX, and settlement risk
Treasury functions are entering a structural shift. Tokenised cash and assets enable institutions to manage liquidity more efficiently, hedge in real time, and settle transactions without counterparty exposure. For banks built around batch processes and end-of-day windows, this demands a redesign of workflows, risk frameworks, and even revenue models. The institutions that adapt will unlock capital efficiency, while those that don’t could face widening mismatches between their balance sheet operations and the speed of customer activity.
3. Compliance frameworks migrate on-chain, turning transparency into a feature
Regulators across major markets are converging on the idea that compliance is more effective when embedded directly into transaction flows. On-chain attestations, programmable rulesets, and verifiable audit trails are shifting KYC/AML from post-event investigation to real-time enforcement. Instead of treating transparency as a burden, compliant on-chain payment networks will use it as a competitive differentiator, automating obligations that previously required entire departments.
The implications for financial institutions are profound. Payments businesses built on margin from slow settlement will need new revenue models, FX providers must compete with rails where conversion is automated and near-instant, and banks face growing pressure from corporates who expect treasury tools that match the responsiveness of digital-native alternatives. At the same time, global merchants, payroll platforms, and fintechs will increasingly gravitate toward networks that offer certainty, programmability, and 24/7 operability as standard.
Together, these shifts show that the architecture of money has already changed. The market, businesses, and consumers have all evolved, and 2026 is the year when legacy financial systems are forced to catch up. Institutions that embrace interoperable, open, and programmable settlement will gain a structural advantage, while those that hang onto closed, permissioned replicas of existing processes will find themselves constrained by liquidity frictions, regulatory obligations they cannot automate, and customer expectations they can no longer satisfy.
Viewed through this lens, SWIFT’s blockchain initiative reflects the direction that the market has already chosen. The real shift comes next, as global finance decides whether it will match the speed, transparency, and flexibility that crypto rails already deliver at scale.
About author
Anıl Öncü is co‑founder and CEO of Bitpace, a global crypto‑payment infrastructure company operating in over 40 countries. With more than 28 years in fintech, digital finance, ecommerce, and product management, he has driven innovation in crypto, e‑money, and fiat integrations, building seamless end‑to‑end fintech ecosystems.
About Bitpace
Bitpace is a leading crypto payment gateway enabling instant, low-fee global transactions in 70+ cryptocurrencies and 40 fiat currencies. With automated conversion, robust compliance, a developer-friendly platform, and unmatched support throughout the customer journey, Bitpace empowers businesses to embrace digital payments securely and seamlessly across borders.
