Quick overview

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JPMorgan Chase has begun deploying a deposit token called JPM Coin for its institutional clients.

The token, which represents dollar deposits at the world’s largest bank, enables users to send and receive money via Coinbase-owned public blockchain Base, said Naveen Mallela, global co-head of the bank’s blockchain division Kinexys, in an interview.

JPM Coin explained that this allows payments to be processed in seconds and around the clock, rather than taking days and only during business hours. The rollout follows a trial period for JPM Coin over the past few months, involving companies like Mastercard, Coinbase, and B2C2.

Mallela mentioned that the bank aims to expand to other currencies and make the token available to clients of its clients in the future, pending regulatory approval. He also said that plans include expanding to other blockchains.

The pilot phase for JPM Coin, with the ticker JPMD, was first announced in June. According to Mallela, the bank has trademarked the ticker JPME for a possible future launch of a Euro-denominated deposit token.

This launch represents a significant step in JPMorgan’s blockchain initiatives and coincides with efforts by global banks and large corporations such as Citigroup Inc., Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank, and PayPal Holdings Inc. to explore digital assets for faster and cheaper payments.

The US has passed the Genius Act, which governs stablecoins—a growing form of digital money. Debt tokens are digital coins issued by commercial banks, representing a claim on existing customer deposits. They are essentially tokenized versions of money already in bank accounts, designed to move more efficiently via blockchain networks. While stablecoins are often pegged to fiat currencies and backed one-to-one by assets like government bonds or highly liquid assets, they are distinct from debt tokens..