US Banks Weigh Shared Blockchain for Tokenized Deposits

JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, along with Citigroup, are exploring a shared permissioned blockchain network that would issue tokenized deposits for near real-time interbank settlement, according to a research note from MEXC Ventures.

The talks remain exploratory. No launch timeline has been set. The concept represents a push to standardize blockchain rails across the industry rather than let each bank run its own isolated pilot.

Interoperability is the core design choice. If each large bank issued its own deposit token on separate ledgers, the operational pain points of legacy settlement–duplicated integrations, complex reconciliation–would persist. A shared network allows each bank's deposit tokens to be issued and transferred on the same ledger. On-chain transfers between banks could execute immediately, reducing reliance on intermediary clearing processes.

MEXC Ventures pointed to JPMorgan's existing blockchain payments infrastructure, Kinexys, as evidence the model can work at scale. The bank has processed more than $4 trillion in volume through the platform, the report said. That suggests the industry is no longer debating whether blockchain can function inside large regulated institutions, but whether those capabilities can be expanded into a common standard.

Tokenized deposits differ from private stablecoins like Tether and USD Coin. They represent commercial bank deposit liabilities expressed as blockchain tokens. The legal nature remains a bank deposit, issued by regulated banks and sitting within existing depositor protection and supervisory frameworks. For incumbents, that distinction matters: it offers a path to integrate blockchain speed and programmability without waiting for entirely new legal regimes for privately issued digital dollars.

The proposal also intersects with established U.S. payment rails. Today, interbank dollar settlement relies on the Federal Reserve's Fedwire for large-value transfers, the ACH network for batch processing, and FedNow for real-time retail payments. Those systems are optimized for moving balances between accounts, but they offer limited native support for conditional execution, automated collateral movements, or direct smart-contract-style integration. The shared deposit network concept is more likely to function as an additional functional layer–adding automation and conditionality–than as a wholesale replacement of these existing rails.

Potential use cases extend beyond faster transfers. MEXC Ventures highlighted trade finance, real-time margin calls, and collateral management as areas where settlement rules can be encoded so funds move only when specific contractual conditions are met. If implemented broadly, such mechanisms could improve efficiency in corporate treasury operations and capital markets workflows.

The biggest hurdles may be organizational rather than technical. Governance arrangements, liability frameworks, data-sharing boundaries, and the approach to regulatory engagement will likely determine how quickly any consortium can turn discussions into production infrastructure. MEXC Ventures characterized the talks as a sign the banking industry is moving from experimentation toward shared infrastructure standardization. At the same time, non-bank players including Visa and PayPal, as well as tokenization-focused firms like Ondo Finance, are accelerating efforts to expand digital dollar settlement. If momentum continues, competition around next-generation dollar payment infrastructure–anchored by tokenized deposits–could intensify across both banking and fintech.

For investors tracking the sector, JPM, BAC, and WFC each carry an Alpha Score of 63, 65, and 59 respectively, all labeled Moderate.