The Blubber

JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, is intensifying its involvement in the crypto sector by launching its own branded digital token, further merging the worlds of traditional commercial banking and cryptocurrency.

On Tuesday, the bank announced it will soon pilot a new digital currency named JPMD, developed in partnership with the crypto exchange Coinbase. Contrary to some expectations of a stablecoin, JPMD will be a deposit token—a blockchain-managed digital representation of a bank deposit. The company filed a trademark application for “JPMD” just over the weekend.

Jesse Pollack, Coinbase’s VP of engineering, commented, “This pilot combines the credibility of both JPMorgan and Base to help bring institutional money into a more global economy.”

JPMD will facilitate 24/7 settlements and cross-border business-to-business payments on Base, an Ethereum-based public blockchain run by Coinbase, explained Naveen Mallela, global co-head of JPMorgan Chase’s blockchain division, Kinexys. “We have always believed in having a token-based solution on public blockchains,” he added.

The token will initially be offered exclusively to JPMorgan’s institutional clients, such as corporations and pension funds, with plans to broaden access to more institutions in the coming months.

The choice to issue a deposit token rather than a stablecoin distinguishes JPMorgan in a growing field. While major corporations like Meta and Google have shown interest in stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and popular among retail clients for trading, remittances, and value storage—JPMorgan’s deposit token serves a different purpose.

Mallela explained that stablecoins are primarily managed by crypto firms and cater to retail users, whereas deposit tokens are issued by regulated banks, making them more compatible with institutional financial frameworks. “Institutional clients can treat JPMD as bank deposits on their balance sheet, providing certainty around financial and accounting treatment,” he said.

This strategic move highlights JPMorgan’s effort to blend traditional banking reliability with the innovation of blockchain technology for institutional finance.