JPMorgan and DBS Establish Unified Cross-Chain Protocol for Institutional Transactions

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and DBS Bank, Singapore’s leading financial institution, are working together to develop a blockchain-powered system that enables tokenized deposit transfers between banks and across different blockchains, with the goal of establishing a new benchmark for institutional payments, according to a

. Through this partnership, DBS Token Services are integrated with JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments, allowing for continuous, real-time settlements on both public and private blockchain platforms, as outlined in a . This solution lets institutional users swap or redeem tokenized deposits without depending on conventional payment systems, meeting the rising need for quicker and more streamlined cross-border payments, according to a .

The system, referred to as a "bi-directional interoperability

," will link JPMorgan’s deposit tokens—issued on Layer 2 Base—to DBS’s token services, which operate on a permissioned blockchain, as mentioned in a . By connecting these platforms, the banks seek to boost liquidity access and minimize fragmentation within the tokenized finance space, an area where about a third of global commercial banks are already involved or exploring similar initiatives, according to a . Rachel Chew, who leads digital currencies at DBS, stressed the importance of preserving the "singleness of money" while achieving interoperability for international payments, as noted in a .

This collaboration builds on JPMorgan’s recent steps into decentralized finance, such as its USD deposit token launch on Coinbase’s Base blockchain, as previously covered by Yahoo Finance. The initiative also reflects a broader movement in the industry, with major Swiss banks like UBS and UK institutions including Barclays and HSBC launching their own tokenized deposit trials, as reported by Cointelegraph. According to the BIS 2024 report, institutional demand for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) is rapidly increasing, fueled by the promise of making financial and physical assets more accessible via blockchain, as highlighted by Cointelegraph.

The outcome of this project depends on resolving interoperability issues that have long challenged cross-chain transactions. Naveen Mallela of JPMorgan described the partnership as an example of how organizations can "maintain the singleness of money" while broadening their market presence, as stated in Yahoo Finance. At the same time, DBS’s platform will enable clients in Southeast Asia to make instant, borderless payments, a feature that could transform institutional payment flows, as reported by Coinpedia.

With more financial institutions moving toward tokenization, the JPMorgan-DBS system could become a model for interoperability standards in a fragmented industry. As banks worldwide accelerate blockchain adoption in their core operations, the ability to move value effortlessly between blockchains may shape the next chapter in digital finance, as reported by Coindesk.