Some of the largest US banks are reportedly planning to launch a tokenized deposit network in the first half of 2027 in response to growing competition from blockchain companies expanding into traditional finance.
The network will be operated by The Clearing House, the bank-owned payments operator, and will connect traditional payment rails with digital asset infrastructure for 24/7 settlement, CEO David Watson told The Wall Street Journal.
The Clearing House is co-owned by some of the largest US banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Barclays, BNY and Wells Fargo, among others, according to its website.
The plan shows how banks are trying to keep deposits inside regulated banking channels while offering some of the speed and programmability that have made stablecoins attractive for settlement and treasury use.
Cointelegraph reached out to The Clearing House for comment but had not received a response by publication.
US banks have pushed back against US crypto market legislation, which could allow stablecoin issuers to pay users yield on their holdings, similar to interest on traditional bank deposits.
The report comes after JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that the banking industry would continue to “fight” against the current version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) and said that crypto companies that want to offer yield-bearing products should apply for banking charters, Cointelegraph reported in late May.
The comments followed a May committee vote to advance the CLARITY Act in the Senate Banking Committee, but the bill still needs to pass through both chambers of Congress before going to US President Donald Trump.
The Clearing House, owner banks. Source: TheClearingHouse.org
The plan shows that banking giants are “reacting to where value is already moving,” Carl Grimstad, CEO of digital asset infrastructure provider Lydian, said, adding:
“This announcement shows that 24/7 programmable settlement is becoming increasingly important.”
While banks have experimented with tokenization in controlled environments, public blockchain networks have settled value at a global scale, said Grimstad, adding that the real question is how value will move across an “increasingly fragmented mix of bank ledgers, public chains and digital assets.”
Related: US financial markets ‘poised to move on-chain’ amid DTCC tokenization greenlight
Wall Street participants accelerate tokenization initiatives
Other Wall Street banks are also accelerating tokenization initiatives.
On March 24, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) partnered with tokenization platform Securitize to develop blockchain-based trading infrastructure for Wall Street by enabling the minting of tokenized shares of stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Days earlier, on March 18, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave the regulatory green light to Nasdaq’s pilot proposal to support the trading of tokenized versions of high-volume stocks and securities.
Earlier in January, the NYSE’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), shared plans for a tokenized securities venue designed for 24/7 trading, instant settlement, stablecoin-based funding and onchain settlement.
Over in Asia, South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance announced a pilot project that will use tokenized deposits to execute government operational spending, with a full rollout set for the fourth quarter of 2026, Cointelegraph reported on April 16.
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