FEATURE: BLOCKCHAIN
families dependent on remittances, stablecoins are not speculative assets but lifelines.
In Southeast Asia, crypto transaction volumes have surged to more than US $ 2 trillion annually, with remittances increasingly routed through blockchain-based platforms. In Latin America, where inflation regularly erodes local currencies, stablecoins are rapidly replacing dollar bills people cannot easily access.
These markets are demonstrating what happens when necessity meets innovation. They don’ t wait for incremental reform; they leapfrog. And in doing so, they provide a glimpse of the global future of payments.
is not the same as relevance. The shift from horsedrawn carriages to automobiles wasn’ t just about adopting wheels. It was about embracing an entirely new system of speed, efficiency and culture.
Blockchain is no different. The rails are faster, cheaper and borderless. The question isn’ t whether Swift will adopt them, it’ s whether it can reinvent itself quickly enough to remain valuable once it does.
Swift’ s survival will depend on its ability to move beyond being a tollbooth. It will need to define new roles, perhaps as a trusted compliance layer, an interoperability hub or a neutral bridge across digital asset ecosystems. But clinging to its traditional role as an intermediary is a losing bet.
A narrowing window
Swift’ s pivot to blockchain may buy it time, but time
The world is moving at the speed of innovation. And if history teaches anything, it’ s this: when a better system arrives, the old one doesn’ t just adapt, it must transform. p
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