Tom Zschach, the former Chief Innovation Officer of SWIFT, has definitively rejected rumors that the financial messaging network plans to integrate the XRP token. In a post on X, Zschach simply stated the integration is "not happening," putting an end to speculation that had been circulating among XRP influencer accounts.
The Rumor and the Rebuttal
Earlier this week, several XRP-focused social media accounts claimed, without evidence, that SWIFT intended to support public tokens like XRP rather than developing its own proprietary token. One user alleged that SWIFT had explicitly said it "does not intend to compete with projects like XRP" and would instead "collaborate and support them."
Zschach, who oversaw SWIFT's digital asset strategy during his six-year tenure, quickly dismissed these claims. He also jokingly asked Grok, the AI assistant developed by xAI, to clarify whether SWIFT actually uses XRP.
Zschach's History of Skepticism
The former executive has been a vocal critic of Ripple and its XRP token. He previously questioned XRP's utility and decentralization, and compared Ripple's technology to a "fax machine" in the modern internet era. Zschach also argued that Ripple's survival of its legal battle with the SEC does not demonstrate institutional resilience.
After leaving SWIFT, Zschach joined a research team from Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge to build new infrastructure combining AI and traditional finance.