With its deposit token debut, J.P. Morgan is setting the pace for global banks in bringing institutional finance on-chain

J.P. Morgan’s playbook for adopting emerging technology is starting to show a familiar pattern. The bank approached AI and generative AI with a methodical process, starting with research and use-case design, securing regulatory alignment, building internal tools, and upskilling its internal teams. It has also taken a similar approach with blockchain, beginning with the 2019 rollout of its JPM Coin.

In June this year, J.P. Morgan launched a USD J.P. Morgan Deposit Token (JPMD) proof-of-concept (PoC) on Base, a public blockchain built by Coinbase. Kinexys by J.P. Morgan is the bank’s blockchain business unit, focused on bringing institutional finance on-chain.

JPMD is an alternative to stablecoins for cash settlement and payments use cases for the bank’s institutional clients. While there’s still time for it to be ready for primetime, it’s a preview of where institutional finance could be heading.

On paper, it’s a contained proof of concept: a token designed for institutional applications like cross-border settlements, real-time liquidity access, and blockchain-based treasury management. But beneath the surface, it suggests that traditional FIs like J.P. Morgan (JPM) are starting to build blockchain infrastructure from the ground up. And not in the walled gardens of private chains, but in public, composable environments where crypto lives.

Even if the use cases are still gestating, the move invites a closer look; what problems JPM thinks it’s solving, why now, and how this could reshape the pipes of business-to-business money movement in the long run.

This piece unpacks those choices and sketches out what B2B payments might look like when legacy finance meets open infrastructure.