RL1, a blockchain cooperative owned by its members, began operations this week with backing from 10 European financial institutions including ABN AMRO, DekaBank, and Natixis CIB. The launch marks a push toward regulated blockchain infrastructure in Europe, aligning with the region's evolving crypto-asset rules.
What RL1 is and how it works
RL1 is structured as a member-owned cooperative, meaning the banks and other financial institutions that join get a say in governance. It's not a public blockchain like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Instead, it's a permissioned network designed for institutional use — think settlement, tokenized assets, and cross-border payments. The cooperative model is meant to keep control in the hands of users rather than a single company or foundation.
The backers and their bet
The 10 founding members include ABN AMRO, DekaBank, and Natixis CIB, three names that carry weight in European banking. Others in the group are undisclosed for now, but the cooperative says it expects to add more members in the coming months. Each institution contributed capital and technical resources to get RL1 off the ground. The bet is that banks will prefer a shared, regulated network over building their own private blockchains or relying on public ones.
Regulatory alignment
RL1's launch comes as European regulators push for clearer rules around digital assets. The cooperative says its design aligns with EU regulatory frameworks, including requirements around custody, settlement finality, and anti-money laundering. That's a selling point for banks that have been cautious about blockchain because of legal uncertainty. By building a network that fits within existing financial regulation, RL1 hopes to avoid the compliance headaches that have plagued other crypto projects.
RL1 is now live and accepting new members from regulated financial institutions across Europe. The cooperative plans to roll out its first use cases — tokenized bonds and money market funds — by the end of the year. If it gains traction, RL1 could become a template for how traditional finance adopts blockchain without leaving the regulatory guardrails behind.
