Chainlink has launched the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE), a new software platform designed to let institutions implement smart contracts across public and private blockchains with built-in tools for compliance, privacy and data integration.
Revealed during Chainlink’s SmartCon, CRE is part of the platform’s push to become core infrastructure for financial institutions moving into blockchain-based rails.
Chainlink positioned CRE as the foundation of the tokenization shift, pointing out that major institutions including Swift, Euroclear, UBS and Mastercard are adopting it “to capture the $867 trillion tokenization opportunity.”
CRE was first revealed a year ago, with Chainlink comparing the platform’s importance to Java’s development environment for the Internet era.
Unlike previous blockchain tools, CRE offers a single environment where developers can write smart contracts that work across multiple blockchains, leverage legacy financial messaging standards like ISO 20022, and comply with regulatory requirements.
CRE also includes access to Chainlink’s existing services such as price feeds and proof-of-reserve systems.
A number of major players already use the platform. JPMorgan’s Kinexys and Ondo completed a cross-chain settlement using CRE, while UBS Tokenize and DigiFT leveraged it for the first ever on-chain redemption of a tokenized fund.
“Smart contracts have evolved into a more complex form that requires synchronization across chains, connection to data and identity, and synchronization with many other existing systems,” said Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov.
“These advanced institutional smart contracts used to take months to years to become real, and with the launch of CRE we can now reduce that to weeks or even just days,” added Nazarov.
Chainlink plans to add privacy features in early 2026, including confidential data processing for institutions that require secure handling of proprietary data. CRE is now live on multiple blockchains and open to developers.
