Global Settlement Network CEO Ryan Kirkley noted that while digital ledgers can record a payment as complete within minutes, they do not automatically ensure that underlying legal obligations have been settled. Because central bank systems like Fedwire remain closed on weekends, banks may face significant friction in reconciling these transactions until the work week resumes.
In section Cryptocurrency
Tokenized cross-border payments face weekend liquidity hurdles
DBS and Citi recently completed a cross-border dollar transfer between Singapore and New York in minutes using tokenized deposits on the Swift Digital Ledger. While the test showcased the potential for continuous global payments, experts warn that moving money outside traditional banking hours risks creating a disconnect between ledger updates and legal finality.
To operate effectively, financial institutions could be forced to maintain larger liquidity buffers or pre-fund accounts to cover weekend activity, effectively trapping capital that could be used elsewhere. Furthermore, the lack of depth in weekend foreign exchange markets presents a pricing challenge. Banks may need to widen spreads or employ dynamic pricing to hedge against the risk of currency fluctuations that occur while conventional markets are dark. Without an orchestration layer to coordinate disparate networks, the industry risks shifting existing fragmentation onto blockchain infrastructure rather than resolving it.
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