JPMorgan and Singapore’s DBS Bank have initiated a new cross-chain model that lets institutional clients move tokenised deposits across multiple blockchain networks, including both permissioned systems and public chains.

This initiative establishes a framework to synchronise digital settlement infrastructure between two of the world’s most blockchain-active banks, and it signals a larger shift towards programmable and interoperable forms of money in institutional finance.

Announced on Tuesday, the system links JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments platform with DBS Token Services.

This allows for real-time settlement of tokenised deposits between the two banks’ blockchain environments, without the use of conventional clearing systems such as SWIFT or central bank-operated rails.

Instead of merely digitising payments, the banks are creating a bridge between isolated systems to foster an interconnected architecture for institutional digital money.

Both banks already allow their clients to use tokenised deposits within closed-loop blockchain systems.

The new model connects those internal environments, turning siloed blockchain rails into a cross-institutional corridor for financial value.

This step is particularly significant because it integrates permissioned bank blockchains with public networks in a compliant and controlled manner.

In practice, a JPMorgan client can use a USD deposit token issued on Coinbase’s Base blockchain, a layer-2 Ethereum network, to pay a DBS client.

That client can then either redeem the token for cash or retain it within DBS’s token services system.

This flow creates interoperability between private and public blockchains, demonstrating that institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure no longer needs to remain fragmented.

The move follows JPMorgan’s earlier steps into decentralised finance infrastructure.

It recently issued a deposit token on the Base blockchain, marking one of the first times a major bank has used a public blockchain for digital cash equivalents in institutional finance.

This new cross-chain framework formalises those efforts and turns them into operational payment rails.

The model is designed to uphold the “singleness of money” across blockchains, meaning a deposit token maintains its value and legitimacy regardless of which ledger it traverses.

Achieving this level of consistency requires not only smart contract interoperability but also regulatory and financial safeguards that match the standards of the traditional system.

The integration also shows that banks are not simply exploring tokenisation for internal optimisation.

They are now creating frameworks that make tokenised money viable for external payments, settlements, and treasury operations at scale.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has reported that nearly one-third of banks around the world are exploring or have already initiated tokenised deposit systems.

This statistic reflects growing institutional confidence in digital forms of money that are anchored to bank balances and can be settled instantly.

The JPMorgan and DBS initiative goes beyond individual bank pilots by demonstrating multi-bank, cross-border execution.

The two banks are operating in regulated environments, New York and Singapore respectively, where digital asset policy has evolved rapidly to accommodate blockchain innovation within traditional financial boundaries.

Until recently, blockchain-based finance in the institutional sector remained confined to internal systems with limited real-world usage.

Most projects focused on internal efficiency or proof-of-concept pilots. This model signals a change.

The linkage between Kinexys and DBS Token Services replaces dependence on legacy rails with digital corridors that can operate in parallel to, or eventually even replace, existing systems.

This infrastructure enables a programmable form of money that retains the regulatory status and financial reliability of fiat while gaining the speed, transparency, and flexibility of blockchain technology.

Financial institutions can now settle across geographies, time zones, and networks without waiting for clearinghouses or traditional batch systems.

In a market increasingly defined by real-time expectations and digital-native assets, the shift towards blockchain interoperability marks a foundational change in how institutional money moves.

Tokenised deposits are no longer isolated experiments. They are becoming the infrastructure beneath the next phase of financial settlements.

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