Crypto Assets under the ISO 20022 Standard: Which coins really have a chance?

You may have heard of terms like SWIFT and ISO 20022, but you might not understand their relation to the crypto world. To put it simply: SWIFT is the largest global interbank payment system, operating for over 50 years. They are updating their communication standards to ISO 20022, starting the migration in 2022 and aiming to complete it by 2025. This means that all financial institutions must adapt to the new standards – which could be an opportunity for certain crypto assets.

Why haven't BTC and ETH kept up?

Bitcoin (launched in 2009) and Ethereum (launched in 2015) are both “old antiques”; the ISO 20022 standard was established later, and they had already emerged, with no one able to change their underlying logic. But Ripple's XRP is different—although XRP is also an old coin that was born in 2012, Ripple is a centralized company that can actively adjust the protocol to adapt to new standards. That's why XRP has become the “big brother” of the ISO 20022 camp.

What are the concept coins of ISO 20022?

Currently, there are 8 known types that are compatible with ISO 20022:

First-tier: XRP - Ripple's flagship, rising from $0.6 last October to over $3.2 recently, breaking the $3 mark for the first time in 7 years. Of course, the historical high was still $3.8 in 2018 (that time was a speculative bubble, rising 1400% in a month before being cut in half to $0.2).

Second-tier team:

• ADA (Cardano) - It was still below 0.4 in October, now it has surged to 1.2, but the growth momentum did not continue in 2025. There is still a distance to the high point of 3.1 dollars in 2021.
• XLM (Stellar) - A fork project of Ripple, its trend is similar to XRP. It surged from 0.1 to 0.5, and although it is still some distance away from 0.9 in 2021, the recovery momentum is good.
• HBAR (Hedera) - A newcomer that emerged in 2019. It skyrocketed from 0.05 to 0.36, recently retracing to 0.25, but there are signs of a new upward trend in 2025.

Survival Mode Difficult Households:

• ALGO (Algorand) - has dropped by 85%, recently rebounding from 0.1 to 0.5, but still far from the 3.2 dollars of 2019.
• IOTA - has fallen more than 90%, rebounding from 0.1 to 0.4, and the 5.7 dollar high in 2017 seems far away.

Other Participants:

• QNT (Quant) - down 72%, rebounding from $56 to $120, but still in recovery.
• XDC - The situation is relatively good, only down 30%. It rose from 0.03 to 0.13, continuing to rise slightly in 2025.

Key Issues

The ISO 20022 adaptation has indeed created a narrative for these coins, with XRP benefiting particularly. However, it is important to note: adaptation standards ≠ coin prices must rise. Although ALGO and IOTA are compatible, the projects themselves are in long-term decline, and the only rebounds are merely technical corrections. The trends of HBAR and XDC resemble dancing with the broader market rather than being driven solely by ISO 20022.

So being optimistic about the ISO 20022 concept isn't a bad idea, but don't be blinded by the story - the project's fundamentals, ecosystem activity, and real applications are the long-term determinants.