JPMorgan confirms plans to launch JPMD ‘stablecoin'
JPMorgan (NASDAQ: JPM) has confirmed that it plans to launch JPMD, a stablecoin-like' deposit token,' which will function like a digital representation of a commercial bank deposit.
A spokesperson for the bank revealed the plans to CNBC on June 17, hot on the heels of the financial behemoth filing for a new trademark for 'JPMD,' which kicked off a round of speculation that it was expanding its digital asset activities.
According to JPMorgan, JPMD will launch on Coinbase's (NASDAQ: COIN) Ethereum-based Base blockchain. JPMD will supposedly allow for round-the-clock settlement as well as an interest-paying mechanism. However, it will only be available to JPMorgan's institutional clients.
'We see institutions using JPMD for onchain digital asset settlement solutions as well as for making cross-border business-to-business transactions,' global co-head of Kinexys, J.P. Morgan's blockchain unit's Naveen Mallela told CNBC.
Rumors around JPMorgan's blockchain plans began to intensify after the JPMD trademark was filed on June 15. The application stated that the trademark is intended to be used in connection with a host of goods and services, relating to digital asset use cases.
For example, it cites 'providing trading, exchange, transfer and payment services for digital assets, namely, virtual currency, digital tokens, payment tokens, decentralized application tokens and blockchain enabled currency.' Later, it lists 'Financial services, namely, facilitating the deposit, holding and withdrawal of electronic funds' and 'Financial services, namely, a financial futures exchange for trading currency including digital currency.'
Virtually any service you'd feasibly expect JP Morgan to provide in connection with digital assets is covered in the application's description. The acronym JPMD, however, was speculated to refer to a stablecoin offering—JPMorgan Dollar.
The trademark application was made under Sections 1(b) and 44(d) of the United States Trademark Act. Section 1(b) filings are used where the company applying for the trademark has a 'bona fide intention' to use the trademark in connection with goods and/or services in the near future. Section 44(d) is used when a trademark application has previously been filed in another jurisdiction—in this case, JPMorgan filed the same trademark application in Singapore on June 11.
The timing is notable. The stablecoin question in the U.S. has received increased attention from the public and private sectors over the past few months.
The U.S. Senate's Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which is the country's push to fully regulate stablecoin issuance, passed a vote on the Senate floor last month. It specifies who may issue stablecoins and how they must be backed and, in its current form, would require non-publicly listed entities to seek regulatory approval before issuing stablecoins.
Perhaps detecting a seachange for stablecoins is on the horizon; the Wall Street Journal reported in May that the largest banks in the U.S. are considering teaming up to launch a stablecoin, including Bank of America (NASDAQ: BAC), Citigroup (NASDAQ: C), Wells Fargo (NASDAQ: WFC) and JPMorgan. It also reported that retailers Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) were exploring their own stablecoins to shave off transaction fees currently being charged by legacy payment processors.
All of this is buoying the stablecoin and broader digital asset markets. Circle (NASDAQ: CRCL), the issuer of one of the most prominent stablecoins, soared to all-time highs this week, reaching $151 a share. Virtually all Bitcoin ETFs are up roughly 5% on the month and around 30% in the past three months.
Watch: Blockchain is much more than digital assets
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