Private Blockchain Builder R3 Aims to Bring Regulated Institutions Onchain via Solana

The digital solutions company, R3, has announced a strategic collaboration with the Solana Foundation to help regulated financial institutions bring real-world assets onto the Solana network. This collaboration will introduce what R3 claims is the first enterprise-grade, permissioned consensus service on a public Layer 1 blockchain. It represents a significant step toward uniting traditional and decentralized finance by combining R3’s deep reach into the institutional finance space with Solana’s scalability, liquidity, and innovation of the internet capital markets.

This announcement ties into the growing trend of non-native chains and assets choosing to build on Solana. Recent examples include Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) going live on Solana and Psy’s trustless bridge allowing Dogecoin to be transferred to Solana without relying on centralized intermediaries.

In addition to the collaboration, R3 has appointed Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation, to its Board of Directors. This move marks a strategic shift for R3, bringing together the strengths of public and permissioned blockchains.

Framing the announcement, she said, “This is a major step forward for the institutional adoption of public blockchain. R3’s decision to bring its regulated financial network onto Solana is powerful validation that public blockchains have reached institutional readiness. With Solana’s unmatched performance, enterprise-grade permissioning, and growing roster of regulated assets, we’re not just witnessing convergence between TradFi and DeFi – we’re enabling it. This collaboration signifies that the future of capital markets will be built on public infrastructure. We’re thrilled that the Solana ecosystem is leading the way.”

As the world’s most widely used public blockchain, Solana delivers unmatched performance, low fees, and a thriving global ecosystem. These strengths make it a strong foundation for the next generation of regulated digital finance.

Bridging The Gap Between TradFi and DeFi

Leading TradFi asset manager, Fidelity, has previously highlighted RWAs and tokenization as an area to watch in 2025. R3 brands itself as “the world’s largest collection of permissioned RWA networks” and claims to have over $10 billion in regulated assets on-chain across its platforms. If these claims are factual, the company could be in a prime position to meet the growing demand for high-quality tokenized assets on public blockchains.

David E. Rutter, Founder and CEO of R3, commented: “We’ve never pursued blockchain for its own sake – our mission is to solve real financial problems. After years of laying the groundwork, R3 is ready to bring our experience and our network of regulated financial institutions towards a new public future with one of the best and most trusted public ecosystems – Solana. This is more than a milestone; it’s a strategic realignment for the entire industry. We know DeFi isn’t coming to TradFi, so it’s up to us to build the connective infrastructure that links these two ecosystems.”

R3 claims Corda processes millions of transactions daily and tokenizes assets for the world’s leading banks, financial institutions, and governments. By integrating with Solana, R3 will allow these assets to move seamlessly onto public networks, expanding settlement options and enabling the use of high-quality stablecoins.

This integration goes beyond traditional interoperability. It allows private transactions on Corda to be confirmed directly on the Solana mainnet, benefiting from its performance and security while ensuring that transactions are fully completed on both networks.

This new consensus service will enable native interoperability between Corda and Solana and other private networks, bridging permissioned and public blockchains. Regulated financial institutions, including banks, market infrastructure providers, and asset managers, will be able to tap into Solana’s openness and efficiency without rewriting applications or compromising on compliance, security, or asset control.

Why Solana?

R3 selected Solana as its public Layer-1 foundation and the core of its new consensus service. The company chose Solana for its low transaction fees, high speed, and strong scalability. They also recognized the value of Solana’s active developer community and its established connections with regulated financial institutions such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Hamilton Lane, all of which have launched regulated assets on the network.

The Solana Foundation and R3 are bringing regulated assets onto a public blockchain at a pivotal moment for the real-world asset (RWA) sector. Regulatory support is boosting investor confidence in digital assets, financial institutions are increasingly open to using public networks, and the DeFi sector is maturing. Together, both organizations aim to unlock new efficiencies, broaden market access, and accelerate the adoption of blockchain in regulated environments.

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