JPMorgan’s blockchain unit, Onyx Coin Systems, continues to make strides in the Middle East, having successfully completed a blockchain-anchored cross-border payments pilot project in partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). The pilot, which concluded several weeks after a similar test in Bahrain with Bank ABC, operated flawlessly and demonstrated satisfactory response times, according to a statement. FAB is reportedly continuing to investigate further possibilities with the system.
Since its inception in 2020, JPMorgan’s permissioned distributed ledger has experienced growing traction. Tyrone Lobban, the head of JP Morgan Onyx Digital Assets & Blockchain, revealed earlier in the month that the platform currently handles daily transactions ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. Besides making inroads in the Middle East, Onyx has been utilized for euro-denominated transactions in Europe starting in June. Concurrently, it enabled interbank USD settlements in India, coordinating with a consortium of six banks.
On October 11, the first public trade was settled via JPMorgan’s newly established Tokenization Collateral Network, utilizing the Onyx blockchain. Tokenized money market fund shares were deposited at Barclays Bank, serving as collateral for a derivatives exchange occurring between JPMorgan and BlackRock.
Several other major players in the financial sector have also entered the tokenization space: Mastercard began testing its Multi Token Network in June, and Citigroup introduced its Citi Token Services in September.
Additionally, JPMorgan played a role in Project Guardian, alongside DBS Bank and Marketnode. Finalized in June, the project, orchestrated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank for International Settlements, centered around the formation of a liquidity pool, comprised of tokenized bonds and deposits, designated for lending and borrowing activities.
Notwithstanding these blockchain ventures, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has maintained a critical stance towards cryptocurrencies, terming them “decentralized Ponzi schemes”, while simultaneously expressing a robust confidence in artificial intelligence technology.
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