How US banks are quietly preparing for an onchain future

US banks are quietly preparing for an onchain future not by launching speculative crypto assets, but by methodically rebuilding core financial infrastructure through tokenization. This involves representing traditional assets like deposits, funds, and custody services as digital tokens on distributed ledgers, enabling automated settlement and reduced counterparty risk within existing regulatory frameworks. Major banks like JPMorgan (with Kinexys and JPM Coin) and Citi (with Citi Token Services) are leading this shift with tokenized deposits for institutional clients. Furthermore, banks are building institutional-grade custody solutions, with BNY Mellon offering custody for Bitcoin and Ether, supported by evolving regulatory clarity from bodies like the OCC. Experimentation also extends to tokenizing investment products, such as J.P. Morgan Asset Management's tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, demonstrating a cautious integration of public blockchains while maintaining compliance. Overall, the preparation is technical, incremental, and focused on adapting existing financial plumbing for distributed ledger technology.

(Source：Cointelegraph)