Chainlink launched Project Pangea, a multi-institutional initiative uniting Fairsquarelab, UniKA consortium, and Qivalis to develop a real-time foreign exchange settlement framework. The initiative brings together over 37 European banks and more than 10 Korean commercial lenders representing over $10 trillion in combined assets under management to eliminate the current two-day settlement delay in cross-border FX transactions. The global FX market processes more than $9.6 trillion in daily trading volume, yet cross-border transactions still depend on intermediary currency conversions that delay settlement by two business days under the T+2 standard. Project Pangea aims to enable direct atomic Payment-versus-Payment swaps of EUR and KRW stablecoins using ISO 20022 messaging standards and existing Swift infrastructure. UniKA members, including Shinhan Bank, JB Bank, and Kbank, aim to reduce Korean won reliance on intermediary currencies by 2026.
Project Pangea Unites Three Banking Consortia
The initiative brings together Fairsquarelab, described as a first-mover in core digital asset infrastructure in South Korea; UniKA (Unified Korea Alliance), a steering committee of five entities including Shinhan Bank, JB Bank, Kbank, Fairsquarelab, and OBDIA, backed by more than 10 participating Korean commercial banks; and Qivalis, a euro stablecoin consortium powered by 37 leading European banks. The combined group represents over $10 trillion in assets under management.
Current FX Settlement Standard Creates Two-Day Delay
The global FX market processes more than $9.6 trillion in daily trading volume. Cross-border transactions depend on intermediary currency conversions that delay settlement by two business days under the current T+2 standard. Project Pangea aims to eliminate that delay by enabling direct, atomic Payment-versus-Payment swaps of EUR and KRW stablecoins. The approach uses ISO 20022 messaging standards and existing Swift infrastructure, meaning participating banks do not need to replace their current systems to join.
Technical Architecture Spans Three Layers
The architecture runs across three layers. At the banking layer, Swift and ISO 20022 messaging handle institution-to-institution communications. At the connectivity layer, Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) moves EUR stablecoins from their native networks to the KRW settlement chain, while Chainlink Data Streams feed real-time FX market data into a Proactive Market Maker engine. At the settlement layer, Fairsquarelab's Pangea L1 Network, a settlement-dedicated blockchain operating independently of any single participating country or bank, executes atomic FX swaps on Ethereum, Polygon, and the Pangea L1. A key design feature of the Pangea L1: oracle data updates are guaranteed to execute ahead of every other transaction in a block, so all FX swaps settle against the current market price rather than a stale rate.
Chainlink Labs and Fairsquarelab Executives Describe Initiative
Fernando Vazquez, President of Capital Markets at Chainlink Labs, described the announcement as a step toward rebuilding how global value moves. "Project Pangea upgrades the fragmented foreign exchange model of today with direct, atomic currency swaps using stablecoins," Vazquez remarked. The Chainlink Labs executive added: "This is a clear example of how the Chainlink standard powers global-scale settlement for the next generation of capital markets." Joonhong Kim, CEO of Fairsquarelab, framed the initiative in terms of Korean market access. "For Korea, Project Pangea is more than an efficiency gain, it opens a path for the Korean won to connect more directly with global currency markets, reducing reliance on intermediary currencies," Kim said.
Atomic Settlement Eliminates Counterparty Risk Window
Settlement risk is a persistent cost in global FX. During the two-day window between trade execution and T+2 settlement, both counterparties carry exposure to the other's default. Atomic PvP settlement closes that window entirely: both legs of a currency swap either complete simultaneously or neither does. For Korean banks specifically, the current model requires converting won into a major intermediary currency, often the U.S. dollar, before converting into the target currency. Direct EUR-KRW atomic swaps would cut that step out. Chainlink noted that within its ecosystem, enterprise revenue and service usage fees are programmatically converted to LINK tokens and stored in the Chainlink Reserve, a strategic onchain reserve designed to support long-term network sustainability.
Working Group to Evaluate Transition Path
Project Pangea is structured as a working group rather than a finished product. The task force will evaluate the transition path from T+2 toward T+0 and build out the multi-currency settlement network across the participating institutions. No public timeline for full deployment has been announced.
FAQ
What is Project Pangea and which institutions are participating?
Project Pangea is a Chainlink-led initiative uniting Fairsquarelab, UniKA consortium (including Shinhan Bank, JB Bank, Kbank, OBDIA, and more than 10 Korean commercial banks), and Qivalis (37 European banks) to develop a real-time FX settlement framework. The combined group represents over $10 trillion in assets under management.
How does Project Pangea eliminate the two-day settlement delay?
Project Pangea enables direct atomic Payment-versus-Payment swaps of EUR and KRW stablecoins using ISO 20022 messaging and Swift infrastructure. The Fairsquarelab Pangea L1 blockchain executes atomic FX swaps where both legs of a currency swap complete simultaneously or neither does, eliminating the T+2 settlement window.
What did Chainlink Labs and Fairsquarelab executives say about the initiative?
Fernando Vazquez, President of Capital Markets at Chainlink Labs, stated Project Pangea "upgrades the fragmented foreign exchange model of today with direct, atomic currency swaps using stablecoins" and called it "a clear example of how the Chainlink standard powers global-scale settlement for the next generation of capital markets." Joonhong Kim, CEO of Fairsquarelab, said the initiative "opens a path for the Korean won to connect more directly with global currency markets, reducing reliance on intermediary currencies."
