J.P. Morgan Dips Its Toes in Blockchain Waters: What’s the Catch?

by

The grandest of the grand banks in the United States – yes, that’s J.P. Morgan – has decided to waltz into the glamorous world of DeFi innovation. But fear not, dear reader, its traditional financial roots are still firmly planted, as it holds hands with not one, but two other financial institutions. Well, isn’t that just a delightful ménage à trois of finance?

Building on the Good Old Foundations

Now, enter Marex Group Plc, a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ (MRX, for those of you who prefer abbreviations over complete words), which last week, in a shocking turn of events, announced it was partnering up with Brevan Howard Digital (BHD) to exploit the marvel that is J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments system. The goal? Why, to make payments faster, more efficient, and less risky. A jolly good idea, no?

And

Thanks to this groundbreaking partnership, Marex and BHD can now reduce payment times, risks, and costs. Oh, and don’t worry about the good old security of traditional finance, because it’s still very much in play, thank you very much. A delightful blend of the old and the new, wouldn’t you agree?

“Kinexys by J.P. Morgan is the next generation of financial market infrastructure,” said Terry Hollingsworth, Global Head of Futures & OTC Clearing Sales, Marex.

“By enabling programmable payment and settlement, the platform leverages automation to unlock the utility of assets and reduce risk.”

Well, there you have it folks – the future of finance, brought to you by J.P. Morgan and a handful of financial wizards. It’s like a digital fairy tale, but with less glitter and more spreadsheets.

A Little History Lesson

But wait – before we all get too excited about this brave new world of blockchain and crypto, let’s rewind the clock a little. J.P. Morgan wasn’t always so warm and fuzzy when it came to cryptocurrency. Oh no! Jamie Dimon, the CEO of J.P. Morgan, famously declared Bitcoin a “fraud” more times than we care to count. Talk about a cold shoulder!

But, as with all things in life, things change. In 2016, J.P. Morgan dipped its toes into the blockchain waters with Quorum, an Ethereum-based platform. Then came JPM Coin in 2019, followed by a merger of both initiatives into Onyx in 2020. Talk about a makeover!

Fast forward to November last year, and Onyx became Kinexys. The platform, it seems, is doing rather well, processing over $1.5 trillion in transactions, with a daily transaction volume that would make any banker blush – $2 billion, to be precise. Not bad, eh?

And now, as if that wasn’t enough, J.P. Morgan’s latest trick is launching JPMD, a new coin representing dollar deposits at the bank. Oh, and don’t forget the rumors of crypto-backed loans coming next year. Just when you thought you had heard it all!

And the cherry on top? A partnership with Coinbase, so Chase credit card holders can fund their accounts on the exchange using – you guessed it – their bank cards. Talk about bringing traditional finance and crypto together in a beautiful, harmonious union.

Read More

2025-08-11 07:02