Vantage Bank and Rio Bank conducted an interbank loan payment using tokenized deposits on the Ethereum mainnet on October 19, 2026. This transaction involved the transfer of principal and interest, which reached the receiving bank's digital wallet in less than three minutes.
The payment process utilized the Participate loan-sales platform and the Hazel Network, developed by Vantage Bank and Custodia Bank. The settlement was executed using Avit, an ERC-20 token issued by Custodia Bank, marking a shift toward using public blockchains for regulated financial operations.
The transaction simultaneously updated loan balances and payment notices, automating parts of the loan servicing workflow. This event follows a collaboration announced in April 2026 to integrate Hazel Network capabilities into the Participate ecosystem, which currently connects more than 750 banks.
The partners had been conducting trial runs of tokenized deposits since March 2025. The participants emphasized that the settlement complied with banking regulations, positioning the use of the Ethereum mainnet as a demonstration of the reliability of public chains for institutional finance.
