European Financial Institutions Establish RL1 Blockchain Cooperative

European Banks Create RL1 Blockchain Cooperative

Ten major European financial institutions have officially launched Regulated Layer One (RL1), a member-owned blockchain cooperative established to support regulated financial markets and the growing economy of tokenized assets. According to RL1, the cooperative was established as a European Cooperative Society registered in Luxembourg and commenced operations on July 29, 2026, marking a significant milestone for institutional blockchain adoption in Europe.

The founding members—ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures, and Seturion—each maintain equal governance rights and decision-making authority over the network’s development and strategic direction. This equal-weighting structure ensures no single institution can dominate the network, creating a genuinely cooperative governance model for institutional blockchain operations. The cooperative structure represents a shift away from single-operator models toward truly collaborative infrastructure.

Proven Infrastructure and Institutional Use Cases

The RL1 network operates on infrastructure previously developed by SWIAT (Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer), a German fintech company that has transferred all ownership to the cooperative. The platform has already demonstrated substantial credibility through production use, having processed transactions exceeding 700 million euros over three years of live operation—concrete evidence that the underlying system can handle real institutional activity at significant scale.

RL1 functions as a private, permissioned blockchain specifically designed for institutional use cases including digital money systems, tokenized bonds, collateral management, and blockchain-based settlement operations. By consolidating these functions on a single shared cooperative network, RL1 addresses a critical pain point: the fragmentation caused by financial institutions maintaining separate distributed ledger technology systems. This consolidation could substantially streamline cross-border transactions and reduce operational complexity for participating members.

Expanding Support and Future Growth

Henning Vollbehr, formerly managing director of SWIAT, will lead the RL1 cooperative. The initiative has secured backing from supporting institutions KfW and L-Bank, and RL1 has confirmed it is actively engaged in discussions with additional institutions, notably including NatWest, regarding potential membership. The demonstrated interest from established financial institutions underscores the perceived value of a standardized, member-owned approach to blockchain infrastructure for regulated markets and institutional use.

This development reflects a broader shift in how European financial institutions approach blockchain technology—transitioning from experimental pilots to committed, long-term cooperative infrastructure deployments. For the wider crypto market, RL1’s emergence as an institutional-grade blockchain cooperative demonstrates that regulated, collaborative blockchain networks represent a viable and increasingly preferred path for financial sector integration.

Source: RL1, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.