A Major Wall Street Bank That Was Once an Enemy of Cryptocurrency Is Making a Strong Entry Into the Crypto Sector

The approach to stablecoins in the US banking sector is rapidly changing. Banks that previously believed demand for stablecoins would remain limited and prioritized tokenized deposit solutions are now considering issuing their own stablecoins. JPMorgan Chase is also reportedly considering a possible stablecoin issuance.

According to sources close to the matter, JPMorgan, the largest bank in the US, recently considered the possibility of launching its own stablecoin. The discussions are said to be in their early stages, and there is currently no product actively under development.

JPMorgan already has a tokenized deposit solution called JPM Coin and its own blockchain infrastructure. A bank spokesperson said the company currently has no plans to issue a stablecoin, but all options could be considered in the future depending on customer demand and the development of the regulatory environment.

Over the past year, the banking sector has lobbied against cryptocurrency companies’ activities in this area, fearing that stablecoins could rival the traditional deposit system. As an alternative, banks have turned to “tokenized deposit” systems, where traditional bank deposits are represented by digital tokens on the blockchain.

While stablecoins typically operate as standalone digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies like the dollar or euro, tokenized deposits constitute a digital representation of traditional deposits held in banks.

However, the increasing interest of large companies like Visa, BlackRock, Google, and DoorDash in the stablecoin ecosystem is causing banks to reconsider their strategies. The stablecoin market is currently dominated by Tether and Circle.

Some bank executives are concerned that stablecoins could encroach on banks’ existing business models in payment systems and deposits, and therefore, issuing stablecoins is also considered a “defensive” strategy.

Besides JPMorgan, several other major banks are also working on joint stablecoin projects.

Several financial institutions, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Santander, are reportedly making progress on a joint stablecoin initiative that could be used globally.

According to sources, the stablecoin being evaluated by banks will initially target commercial customers and will be based on the US dollar. The euro and other G7 currencies are planned to be included in the system in later phases.

It is stated that the use cases for stablecoins may vary depending on the region.

*This is not investment advice.