Major financial institutions are moving beyond experimentation and actively rebuilding core financial infrastructure using blockchain-based tokenization. What was once treated as an experimental use case is now becoming a central part of institutional strategy across global capital markets.
Institutions including JPMorgan, UBS, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and BNY Mellon have already launched or significantly scaled tokenization initiatives. These efforts span tokenized deposits, bonds, funds, commercial paper, and private-market assets, bringing traditionally illiquid instruments into more flexible digital formats. The appeal lies in real-time settlement, programmable ownership rules, and the ability to fractionalize assets, which together reduce settlement risk and improve capital efficiency.
BNY Mellon, holding $57.8 trillion in assets under custody, has made a significant move by launching a live tokenized deposit service. The platform, announced on January 9, 2026, allows clients to transfer deposits using blockchain rails for collateral, margin transactions, and payments, with the bank targeting 24/7 operations. Initial users include Intercontinental Exchange (owner of the New York Stock Exchange), Citadel Securities, DRW Holdings, Ripple Prime, asset manager Baillie Gifford, and stablecoin firm Circle.
"This is very much about connecting traditional banking infrastructure and traditional banking institutions with emerging digital rails and digital ecosystem participants in a way that institutions trust," said Carolyn Weinberg, BNY’s chief product and innovation officer.
The shift reflects growing confidence that blockchain-based rails can outperform legacy infrastructure in speed, transparency, and operational efficiency, especially for complex and cross-border transactions. A growing ecosystem of enterprise platforms is underpinning this transition. Citi’s token services platform targets continuous settlement, while Chainlink provides interoperability. The Canton Network is attracting institutional interest for its privacy-focused design. Technology firms like IBM, JPMorgan with its Kinexys platform, and Oracle are embedding tokenization tools directly into institutional workflows.
BNY Mellon's launch follows the passage of the GENIUS Act, which sets up stablecoin rules in the US. Tokenized deposits differ from stablecoins as they sit within the banking system itself and can pay interest. They are seen as a key settlement layer for other tokenized securities like stocks and bonds. ICE plans to support these deposits across its clearinghouses to prepare for continuous trading, with CEO Jeffrey Sprecher noting tokenization could increase trading volumes by enabling round-the-clock collateral management.
While early liquidity remains limited and many deployments are still permissioned, banks are committing capital, talent, and regulatory resources, signaling this is a structural shift. Other banks are piling in: JPMorgan rolled out JPM Coin to institutional clients, HSBC plans to expand its tokenized deposit service to the US and UAE, and Barclays recently invested in a startup building clearing systems for tokenized deposits.
