JPMorgan Migrates JPM Coin to Coinbase's Base Layer to Meet Institutional Demand
On December 18, 2025, JPMorgan announced the migration of JPM Coin (JPMD) from its private Kinexys/Onyx blockchain to Coinbase's public Base layer. This move responds to growing institutional demand for tokenized deposits that offer enhanced interoperability and distribution beyond a single bank's ecosystem.
JPMD represents tokenized deposits—digital claims on existing bank funds—that can bear interest under the GENIUS Act, distinguishing them from traditional stablecoins which are prohibited from offering interest. JPMorgan initially launched blockchain deposit accounts for institutional clients in 2019 on its permissioned Ethereum-based Onyx/Kinexys network. Expanding onto Base allows these tokenized deposits to function on a public blockchain while remaining permissioned and transferable exclusively among whitelisted JPM Coin clients onboarded to the platform.
The use cases for JPM Coin include serving as collateral or margin payments for cryptocurrency purchases, facilitating payments on public chains, and providing a bank-deposits-like option within Base. Coinbase executive Brian Foster described tokenized deposits as a "cousin of stablecoins," emphasizing their interoperability and potential to reach a broader client base beyond a single financial institution. Clients primarily include asset managers and broker-dealers connected to Coinbase.
JPMorgan highlights robust risk controls surrounding JPMD, including governance frameworks, secure key storage, separation of roles, and exclusive bank control over the token. Although the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has issued warnings about crypto risks, it did not comment specifically on this development.
This initiative reflects a broader industry trend toward a continuum spanning traditional finance (TradFi) off-chain processes to decentralized finance (DeFi), as banks strive to compete with stablecoins in areas such as payments, settlement, and collateral management.
