Notable cryptocurrencies supporting ISO 20022: Analyzing market trends beyond 2025

The ISO 20022 financial messaging standard announced by SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has already attracted attention from multiple cryptocurrency projects. While only a limited number of cryptocurrencies currently support this standard, they have shown interesting price movements during recent bull and bear markets, rapidly increasing investor interest. Notably, the element of ISO 20022 compliance is being pointed out as a potential factor influencing cryptocurrency price formation amid the market environment changes expected between 2024 and 2025.

Background of SWIFT Standard Changes and ISO 20022

ISO 20022 is an international standard developed by SWIFT to standardize and improve the efficiency of data transfer between different financial institutions. Through this standard, financial institutions can communicate seamlessly and automatically across systems, significantly enhancing settlement efficiency. SWIFT has operated as a major interbank settlement system for over 50 years, and its messaging infrastructure is currently transitioning to ISO 20022.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), based in Geneva, Switzerland, provides technical standards for this development. The full migration to the new standard is scheduled to be completed by 2025, requiring all financial institutions to adapt. Interestingly, even the world’s largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, are not compatible with ISO 20022. Both were created in 2009 and 2015 respectively, well before the standard was announced, making retrofitting practically difficult.

XRP: Leading Candidate for ISO 20022 Support

Ripple’s XRP is undoubtedly one of the largest cryptocurrencies aligned with ISO 20022. Since its inception in 2012, Ripple has been designing and developing XRP to conform to this standard. Ripple’s status as a private company, with direct control over XRP’s development strategy, enabled this support. In contrast, decentralized projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum cannot unilaterally decide to support the standard.

XRP’s price trajectory has been dramatic. As of October 2024, it was below $1, but following Donald Trump’s political victory, it surged to $1.10 and then to $2.70. Recently, it surpassed the $3 mark for the first time in seven years, reaching $3.20. The background for XRP’s sharp rise in 2025 is believed to be the market beginning to recognize its technical advantage of ISO 20022 support.

However, historical perspective is also important. The all-time high of $3.80 in January 2018 was driven by a sensational speculative bubble, which saw a staggering 1,400% increase in just one month, but subsequently fell below $0.20 during the bear market. Whether the current upward trend can be sustained depends on the actual adoption by financial institutions after the standard transition period ends.

ADA, XLM, HBAR: Trends of Latecomer Supported Coins

Cardano’s ADA ranks second among ISO 20022-compatible cryptocurrencies by market cap. It was below $0.40 in October 2024 but rose above $1.20 after Trump’s victory. Unlike XRP, its upward momentum after 2025 appears to be stalling, and it remains far from its all-time high of $3.10 in 2021.

Stellar’s XLM, born as a decentralized spin-off of Ripple, shows similar trends. It hit a record high of $0.90 in 2021 but dropped below $0.10 in October 2024. After Trump’s victory, it rose above $0.50, approaching its 2018 peak.

Hedera’s HBAR, launched in 2019, exhibits a different trend from other supported coins. Its all-time high and recent peak are at similar levels, suggesting room for further growth. From below $0.05 in October 2024, it surged past $0.36 following Trump’s victory, then corrected to around $0.25. Signs of a new rally are emerging in 2025, with a pattern similar to XRP’s upward movement.

ALGO, IOTA, QNT, XDC: Recovery Potential and Challenges

Algorand (ALGO) and IOTA have faced sustained downward pressure throughout their existence. ALGO declined 85% from its all-time high, while IOTA fell over 90%. However, with the arrival of 2025, slight signs of recovery are appearing. ALGO rose from around $0.10 to $0.50, still far from its 2019 high of $3.20. IOTA recovered from about $0.10 to $0.40, but remains distant from its December 2017 peak of $5.70.

Both still have potential for upward movement, as they are far from their peaks. Nonetheless, the long-term downtrend remains evident, and despite their fundamental advantage of supporting ISO 20022, market trust has yet to fully recover.

Quant (QNT) is currently down 72% from its high, while XDC is down about 30%. Market trends differ between the two, but overall, they follow the broader crypto market trend. QNT struggled until October 2024, near its bear market lows in 2022. XDC also faced difficulties but surged dramatically after Trump’s victory, rising from $0.03 to over $0.09 between November and December, and exceeding $0.13 in 2025. QNT similarly surged from $56 to $165 during the same period but has since corrected below $120.

Investment Outlook for ISO 20022-Compliant Cryptocurrencies

Supporting ISO 20022 is increasingly serving as a technological differentiator for cryptocurrencies. As demand for digital transformation and settlement efficiency in financial institutions grows, compliance with this standard could confer a long-term competitive advantage. However, actual market impact depends heavily on the adoption and implementation by financial institutions.

Currently, eight cryptocurrencies are known to support ISO 20022: XRP, ADA, XLM, HBAR, ALGO, IOTA, QNT, and XDC. Among these, the strategic design choices of the development teams—such as Ripple’s early integration of XRP and Stellar’s XLM—may influence market evaluations after the standard transition period ends, compared to later entrants like ADA.

With the full ISO 20022 migration scheduled for the end of 2025, changes in regulatory environments and the integration of blockchain technology will significantly influence the valuation of these compliant cryptocurrencies. Market participants need to evaluate not only price movements but also regulatory developments and technological adoption comprehensively.