JPMorgan Sets the Stage for TradFi-DeFi Merger by Settling Its First Tokenized Transaction on a Public Blockchain

The merger between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) is becoming tangible, step by step. For years, this marriage seemed like a distant promise.

The merger between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) is becoming tangible, step by step. For years, this marriage seemed like a distant promise. However, JPMorgan has just made a major first step by settling its first tokenized transaction on a public blockchain.

This advance highlights the rise of blockchain in the institutional world and envisions a future where crypto and classic finance coexist.

First Public Crypto Transaction: JPMorgan Steps Out of the Private Garden

JPMorgan, a global finance giant, announced an important milestone: the successful completion of a transaction involving tokenized US Treasury bonds. This operation took place on the Ondo Finance platform, a public blockchain, thanks to the interoperability ensured by Chainlink.

Colin Cunningham, head of tokenization at Chainlink Labs, explains: “This is the first time a major global bank has connected its payment system to a public blockchain.”

He adds that this milestone marks the future of financial transactions, where real assets will freely circulate between private and public chains.

This transaction is powered by Kinexys, JPMorgan’s DeFi platform. It aims to bridge the gap between the two worlds, enabling near-instant settlements and cost reductions. The Kinexys project already manages about $2 billion in daily volumes and $1.5 trillion in underlying assets.

This achievement confirms the growing ability of traditional finance to incorporate crypto innovations.

Technology and Achievements: Chainlink and Ondo at the Heart of the Experience

The experience conducted with Ondo Federal and Chainlink perfectly illustrates the strengths of hybrid technologies. Chainlink acts as a bridge, ensuring secure communication between JPMorgan’s private blockchain and Ondo’s public blockchain. This interoperability eliminates the usual frictions encountered in crypto transactions across different networks.

Nathan Allman, CEO of Ondo Federal, emphasizes: “The inaugural transaction is not just a major milestone, it is a statement about the future of finance.”

Ondo Federal facilitates the tokenization of traditional assets, such as Treasury bonds, in a decentralized environment. The OUSG token, used in this transaction, is a tokenized money market fund. These innovations enable institutions to operate within open ecosystems, where liquidity and transparency are enhanced.

JPMorgan has been experimenting with blockchain since 2019 with JPM Coin, renamed Kinexys. This project is evolving towards a solution capable of settling transactions 24/7, reducing costs and accelerating cross-border payments. The recent public transaction marks a new step in this roadmap, signaling broader adoption among the institutional crypto community.

Key Figures and Challenges of Institutional Crypto Transactions

The scope of this project is as much financial as technological. The tokenization of real assets is gaining ground, with over $12 billion in value locked on more than 80 DeFi platforms, according to DeFi Llama. BlackRock ranks among the largest investors, with nearly $3 billion in tokenized cash funds.

JPMorgan’s transaction fits into a rapidly growing market, especially among traditional players eager to enter the crypto community. Here are the notable figures:

These figures emphasize the scale of the revolution. JPMorgan takes a major step by directly connecting its payment system to public blockchains. This advance lays the groundwork for a future where crypto transactions will be at the heart of global financial flows.

Blockchain now finds its place in multiple sectors: finance, healthcare, aviation… However, it still struggles to convince some tech giants like Nvidia. These companies remain cautious, sometimes slowing the growth of a disruptive technology. Nevertheless, the entry of banks like JPMorgan into the crypto ecosystem shows that blockchain is gradually becoming a cornerstone of the economy of tomorrow.