Vision 2030 Fuels SAB's Blockchain Partnership with Chainlink

Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), one of Saudi Arabia’s largest financial institutions with over $100 billion in assets, has partnered with Chainlink to advance onchain finance in the Kingdom. The collaboration, formalized through an innovation agreement, will leverage Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) and Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) to develop secure, blockchain-based financial applications. SAB aims to integrate these tools into its infrastructure to facilitate tokenized asset transfers, cross-border payments, and interoperable workflows between public and private blockchains. The partnership aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda to modernize its financial ecosystem through regulated innovation.

Chainlink’s CCIP enables secure cross-chain data and token transfers, while CRE provides a decentralized runtime for building and executing verifiable workflows across blockchains and external systems. For SAB, these technologies offer a framework to tokenize deposits, automate cross-border settlements, and streamline capital market processes. By using CCIP, the bank can ensure verifiable settlement and policy controls across fragmented blockchain networks, a critical requirement for institutional-grade applications. The CRE environment further enhances this by enabling modular, auditable workflows that integrate with legacy banking systems, reducing reconciliation overhead and improving transparency.

The partnership underscores a broader trend of institutional adoption of blockchain infrastructure. SAB joins other global institutions, such as JPMorgan and Société Générale, in experimenting with tokenized finance. For example, JPMorgan’s Onyx blockchain has tested interbank transfers, while Société Générale has issued tokenized bonds on Ethereum. SAB’s collaboration with Chainlink adds momentum to this movement, particularly in the Middle East, where regulatory clarity and infrastructure development are accelerating. The bank’s previous agreement with Wamid to explore capital market tokenization further positions Saudi Arabia as a hub for compliant digital asset innovation.

Market analysts have responded positively to the partnership. Chainlink’s native token, LINK, has surged 117.5% over the past year, trading at $23.16 as of the latest data. Crypto analyst VirtualBacon projects LINK could reach $52 by year-end, citing the token’s evolution from a DeFi oracle to a core infrastructure provider for real-world assets and institutions. This optimism is tied to Chainlink’s expanding role in AI and DeFi, including its recent integration with Aethir’s AI Unbundled Alliance and Bitlayer’s Bitcoin Layer 2 project.

SAB’s adoption of Chainlink technologies reflects the growing intersection of traditional finance and decentralized systems. By prioritizing security, interoperability, and regulatory compliance, the bank aims to position Saudi Arabia at the forefront of next-generation financial infrastructure. The partnership also highlights Chainlink’s technical strengths, including its $62.9 billion in total value secured (TVS) and its role in securing $25 trillion in transaction value through its oracle networks. As SAB tests these tools, the success of its initiatives could influence broader adoption of onchain finance across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and beyond.