US-based IBM has connected Digital Asset Haven to Swift's shared ledger in beta and added an on-premises deployment option.
Digital Asset Haven is IBM's platform for managing and securing digital assets for banks, governments, and other regulated organisations. In a beta offering, clients can now connect to permissioned blockchain networks, including Swift's blockchain-based shared ledger. The company is also extending the platform to an on-premises beta deployment, so institutions can run digital asset operations entirely within their own data centres.
The move comes as banks reassess how they move money across borders and handle a wider range of digital assets. According to a J.P. Morgan Payments research, 93% of financial institutions are modernising their payments ecosystem. IBM notes that this is adding to demand for systems that support new transaction types while meeting security, compliance, and operational requirements.
Tokenised deposits through ISO 20022 messaging
The Swift connection relies on the beta release of the IBM Digital Asset Haven ISO 20022 Messaging Adapter. With it, institutions can instruct tokenised deposit transactions on Swift's shared ledger using standard ISO 20022 messages instead of blockchain-specific workflows. Banks can therefore build on the message formats and operational processes they already use.
The ledger supports bank-issued tokenised deposits. Participating IBM clients can move digital assets 24/7 ahead of final settlement through existing systems. They continue to apply established Swift standards and their own compliance processes. Swift connects 12,500 financial institutions across more than 200 markets.
Swift announced the ledger at Sibos 2025 and designed it with more than 40 financial institutions. It moved from concept to activation in nine months, and 17 institutions are now using it to pilot tokenised deposit transactions. According to IBM, institutions in the programme have already tested tokenised deposits on the ledger using Digital Asset Haven.
On-premises deployment on IBM Z and LinuxONE
The on-premises option follows the SaaS and hybrid deployment models IBM launched in October 2025. Since then, banking and payment institutions across several continents have begun implementing digital asset use cases on the platform. The new version runs inside a client's data centre on IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE, with no dependency on public cloud infrastructure. Clients can deploy it on compatible hardware they already have or on new capacity. It supports assets such as stablecoins and tokenised deposits.
Both the solution layer and the key management layer remain within the client's environment. IBM states that certain configurations reach 99.999999% availability, based on internal measurements and projections for a specified hardware and software setup. IBM Crypto Express hardware security modules embedded in LinuxONE protect the keys. Confidential computing and environment partitioning separate production, test, and development workloads.
The platform uses formal, auditable key ceremonies to generate root certificate authority keys, and these produce documentation clients can present to regulators. It also supports cold storage operations through IBM Offline Signing Orchestrator. The architecture, APIs, and workflows match the SaaS and hybrid SaaS versions, so clients can switch deployment models without rewriting applications.
Together, the two releases target institutions that want to join shared ledger networks while keeping direct control over infrastructure and cryptographic keys. Tom McPherson, General Manager, IBM Z and LinuxONE, said tokenised and traditional assets will need to move side by side, adding that institutions preparing for always-on transactions need infrastructure that meets the security, resiliency, and compliance requirements of regulated banking.
Both capabilities remain in beta. Institutions interested in the on-premises version can join a waitlist.
