The Solana Foundation has released an open-source program designed to let institutions settle trades in seconds rather than days. JPMorgan provided key inputs for the project, according to the foundation, giving the effort a direct link to one of the world’s largest banks.
The announcement, made Wednesday, marks a push to bring traditional financial settlement speeds closer to those seen in crypto markets. It also signals growing interest from established financial players in public blockchain infrastructure.
What the program does
The program is a settlement layer that runs on Solana, a blockchain known for high throughput and low fees. In traditional markets, settling a trade often takes two business days—the familiar T+2 cycle. The new tool aims to cut that to seconds by using the Solana network to record and confirm transactions.
It’s open source, meaning any institution or developer can inspect, use, or modify the code. The foundation says the goal is to create a common standard that multiple firms can adopt without building proprietary systems from scratch.
JPMorgan’s involvement was limited to providing key inputs, the foundation said, without specifying what those inputs were. A spokesperson for the bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The foundation declined to say whether JPMorgan plans to use the program in production.
Why JPMorgan’s role matters
JPMorgan has been one of the more active major banks in blockchain experimentation. Its involvement—even in an advisory capacity—lends credibility to a project built on a public chain. For Solana, that’s a notable endorsement as it tries to shake off past network outages and compete with Ethereum for institutional business.
The bank’s input could also shape how the program handles compliance and privacy, two areas where public blockchains have historically struggled to meet institutional requirements. The foundation said the code includes features to address those concerns but didn’t provide details.
Settlement speed as a competitive edge
Institutional trading desks have long complained about the lag between execution and settlement. During that window, counterparty risk builds up, and capital gets tied down. Moving to near-instant settlement would free up billions in collateral across markets, according to industry estimates.
Several projects are chasing that prize. Some use private blockchains, while others rely on central bank digital currencies. Solana’s approach bets that a public, high-speed network can handle the load without sacrificing transparency.
Whether institutions will trust a public chain for core settlement is still an open question. The foundation says the code is ready for testing, but no timeline for live deployments has been announced.
What comes next
The Solana Foundation plans to hold workshops with financial firms in the coming months to walk through the program’s capabilities. It’s also inviting developers to contribute to the codebase on GitHub.
For now, the project is another sign that the line between decentralized finance and traditional markets is getting thinner. The real test will be whether banks move from providing inputs to actually settling trades on-chain.
JPMorgan hasn’t said if it will be among them.
