JPMorgan has officially launched its USD-denominated deposit token, JPM Coin (JPMD), on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network. The rollout follows a successful pilot program that began in June, marking a significant milestone in the bank’s push to bring traditional finance into the blockchain era.
J.P. Morgan
The bank’s blockchain unit, Kinexys by JPMorgan, confirmed that JPMD is now live for institutional clients, enabling 24/7, near-instant settlement for onchain transactions. Major players including Coinbase, Mastercard, and B2C2 participated in early testing, demonstrating the system’s potential to streamline payments between financial institutions.
JPM Coin serves as a tokenized representation of bank deposits, offering regulated institutions a compliant way to conduct payments and settlements on a public blockchain. Unlike stablecoins that target retail users, JPMD is strictly designed for institutional use, incorporating JPMorgan’s know-your-customer (KYC) and regulatory frameworks to maintain transparency and compliance.
“We’re moving the industry forward in transacting on public blockchains, beginning with Base,” said Naveen Mallela, Global Co-Head of Kinexys by JPMorgan. “This marks the start of a broader journey to make institutional-grade payments work seamlessly across blockchain networks.”
According to a Bloomberg report, JPMorgan plans to expand the deposit token’s reach to additional blockchains and has secured the JPME trademark, hinting at a potential euro-denominated version of the coin in the future.
Building Interoperability in Tokenized Finance
The rollout coincides with broader developments in the tokenized deposits space. On Monday, DBS and Kinexys announced plans to develop an interoperability framework that will allow tokenized deposits to move across both public and permissioned blockchains—a key step toward creating a unified global payment infrastructure.
Meanwhile, other major banks are entering the space. BNY Mellon is reportedly exploring blockchain-based deposits for institutional payments, while Barclays, Lloyds, and HSBC have launched a pilot to test tokenized sterling deposits in the UK.
