- JPMorgan’s digital asset, JPMCoin, has successfully processed over $1 billion in daily transactions
- Takis Georgakopoulos, Global Head of Payments at JPMorgan, shared this news on Bloomberg TV and expressed the bank’s commitment to further expanding JPMCoin’s use
- The bank plans to develop a retail version of JPMCoin using its permissioned blockchain
JPMorgan has successfully handled over $1 billion in daily transactions using its digital asset, JPMCoin, showing a strong level of adoption and asking further questions over the potential of public blockchains in the private sector. Takis Georgakopoulos, the Global Head of Payments at JPMorgan, revealed the uptake to Bloomberg TV and expressed the bank’s commitment to expanding the use of JPMCoin. The bank plans to further expand its use and is considering the development of a similar asset for retail investors, aiming to enhance the efficiency and speed of transactions.
JPMCoin Pulling Up Trees
JPMCoin was introduced in 2019 to facilitate cheaper inter-bank transfers using Quorum, a permissioned version of Ethereum, and Georgakopoulos revealed that the uptake within its Interbank Information Network now runs into the billions of dollars per day.
In the interview, Georgakopoulos emphasized the shortcomings of existing payment systems, including speed limitations, cut-off times, and cross-border payment delays, which JPMCoin was created to solve:
The reason why we created the JPMCoin and in general we are looking at digital currency as a way to solve those issues. What we do with JPMCoin is the institutional side of that solution, working in a permissioned environment with companies that are trusted and trust each other so that they can move money within their ecosystem 24/7.
Georgakopoulos also pointed out the challenges of dealing with separate movements of money and information, which hinder reconciliation, understanding, and tracking, something that the bank is looking to tackle with its newly launched Onyx network.
JPMorgan Looking at Retail Version
Although JPMCoin primarily serves institutional requirements, Georgakopoulos revealed the company’s intention to develop a retail version of the asset to extend its efficiency to the retail sector, further calling into doubt the efficacy and use case for cryptocurrencies such as XRP. Georgakopoulos stated that Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are a potential route to achieve this goal, something that won’t enamor him with the crypto sector, even if they cared for him in the first place.
Georgakopoulos pointed out that banks have the potential to create commercial versions of digital deposits, mirroring traditional deposits in functionality but utilizing distributed ledger technology. This approach would provide the same benefits, including 24/7 efficiency, cost-effectiveness, instant transactions, and programmable payment methods. However, as many have pointed out, this comes with strong personal privacy concerns, with the issuing government able to track and influence spending habits.
