JPMorgan is broadening the reach of its blockchain-based payment token, JPM Coin, by bringing it to the Canton Network, marking the token’s second major network expansion. The move reflects the bank’s continued push to modernize institutional payments using blockchain technology, while maintaining the safeguards expected by large financial players.
The rollout is being led by Kinexys, J.P. Morgan’s blockchain and digital payments division. JPM Coin, trading under the ticker JPMD, will now operate on Canton, a permissionless Layer 1 blockchain built specifically for institutional finance. Canton is designed to balance openness with privacy controls, allowing participants to meet regulatory and operational requirements.
This expansion follows JPM Coin’s launch on Base, the Coinbase-supported Ethereum Layer 2 network, in November 2025. Together, the two deployments signal a growing willingness by traditional banks to interact with public and semi-public blockchain infrastructure, rather than relying solely on closed, internal systems.
JPM Coin represents U.S. dollar deposits held at J.P. Morgan and functions as a bank-backed alternative to stablecoins for institutional clients. It enables near-instant, round-the-clock peer-to-peer transfers and settlement, a feature increasingly in demand for cross-border and onchain transactions.
According to Naveen Mallela, global co-head of Kinexys, the integration with Canton is aimed at improving efficiency and liquidity across digital financial markets. He noted that transacting on public blockchains, while preserving institutional standards, is a key step forward for the industry.
Canton was developed by blockchain infrastructure firm Digital Asset and is supported by a consortium of major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Börse, and BNY Mellon. Launched in 2024 and governed by the independent Canton Foundation, the network has become a testing ground for large-scale enterprise blockchain initiatives. One notable example is the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s limited pilot program to tokenize U.S. Treasury securities.
Digital Asset has been actively expanding the ecosystem. In June, the firm raised $135 million in a funding round led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets to accelerate the onboarding of real-world assets. The company says roughly 400 organizations now participate in the Canton network, including global banks and trading firms.
JPMorgan plans to deploy JPMD on Canton in phases throughout 2026. Future integrations under consideration include bringing the bank’s Blockchain Deposit Accounts onto the network, which would allow institutions to access, issue, transfer, and redeem tokenized deposits directly within the Canton ecosystem.
The concept of a permissioned deposit token was first publicly discussed by J.P. Morgan in mid-2025, when the bank positioned it as a practical alternative to stablecoins for institutional use. While JPM Coin itself dates back to 2019, when it launched on the bank’s internal Onyx blockchain, the strategy has evolved significantly. Onyx was rebranded as Kinexys in 2024, reflecting a broader focus on external networks and interoperability.
Despite CEO Jamie Dimon’s long-standing skepticism toward Bitcoin, J.P. Morgan has consistently been one of Wall Street’s most active blockchain experimenters. The bank previously developed Quorum, a permissioned Ethereum-based platform, and has more recently shown openness to stablecoins and tokenized deposits as tools for modern finance.
Looking ahead, Kinexys is also collaborating with Singapore’s DBS to build an interoperability framework that would allow tokenized deposits to move across different blockchain networks. Such efforts point to a future where institutional money flows more freely between systems without sacrificing security or compliance.
