JPMorgan Expands JPM Coin to Ethereum to Boost Institutional Liquidity

JPMorgan is preparing to extend its nearly one-year-old digital dollar token, JPM Coin, onto the Ethereum blockchain as part of a broader push beyond Coinbase’s Base layer-2 network. The bank cited Ethereum’s deep liquidity and existing institutional adoption as key reasons for the move, according to Emma Landriault, head of Kinexys Labs within JPMorgan’s blockchain arm, Kinexys.

Moving JPM Coin onto Ethereum is intended to make the token more accessible to both crypto firms that conduct blockchain-based payments and financial institutions that require a digital token for settling trades or supporting tokenized assets. Landriault confirmed the strategy in an interview but did not provide a timeline for when JPM Coin will be available on Ethereum. Requests for additional details to JPMorgan had not been answered by publication time.

Why Ethereum and Tokenization Matter

Ethereum’s liquidity and broad institutional usage were highlighted as primary advantages over alternative networks. Tokenization — the method of converting real-world or financial assets into digital representations on a distributed ledger — promises faster settlement, quicker movement of funds, and reduced reliance on traditional payment rails that can introduce delays and frictions.

Banks have largely developed tokenization solutions on private networks, but there is growing interest in interoperable approaches. In the U.S., several large banks, including JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, are cooperating on plans for a shared network to support tokenized deposits.

Existing Infrastructure and Industry Context

JPMorgan’s private blockchain, Kinexys, already routes significant activity, handling over $7 billion a day — a fraction of the bank’s broader payments volume, which totals around $12 trillion daily. Meanwhile, decentralized finance activity on Ethereum remains substantial; about $50 billion in crypto assets is currently locked in Ethereum-based applications, according to DeFiLlama data.

On the institutional collaboration front, JPMorgan is among more than 30 banks contributing to SWIFT’s exploration of a blockchain-based ledger to modernize interbank messaging and settlement. SWIFT reported in July that 17 banks were preparing to pilot live transactions on its ledger; JPMorgan was not listed among those initial pilots.