Three of America's largest banks — JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup — are planning to launch a shared tokenized network next year, a direct response to the growing threat that stablecoins pose to their deposit base.
The stablecoin deposit drain
Stablecoins, digital tokens pegged to traditional currencies like the dollar, let users move value almost instantly and cheaply without going through a bank. As more people and businesses hold stablecoins in crypto wallets instead of checking accounts, the banks see their core funding source — customer deposits — slowly eroding. The three lenders aim to fight back by offering a bank-run alternative that is just as fast and programmable, but operates within the regulated banking system.
Shared infrastructure, not a single coin
The plan calls for a common tokenized platform that the three banks would use to issue digital versions of deposits. Unlike a standalone stablecoin project, the network is meant to be interoperable — a customer of Bank of America could send tokenized dollars to a Citigroup customer in near real time, with settlement happening directly on the ledger. The banks hope the shared infrastructure will let them compete with stablecoin issuers such as Tether and Circle without each having to build its own proprietary blockchain.
What happens next
The banks say they intend to have the network operational sometime next year, but they have not released a specific launch date or disclosed whether they will seek approval from federal regulators before going live. A key unresolved question is how the network will handle anti-money laundering checks and compliance across three different institutions. The banks are expected to share more technical details later this year.
