JPMorgan Spent Years Doubting Stablecoins. Now it Wants to Issue One

JPMorgan Chase is weighing whether to launch its own stablecoin, according to a Wall Street Journal report, a move that would mark a shift for the U.S. bank as major lenders increasingly explore digital currencies and blockchain-based payments.

The discussions are at an early stage and JPMorgan has no active plans to issue a stablecoin, a bank spokeswoman said, adding that it would evaluate its options based on customer demand and regulatory developments.

JPMorgan already operates JPM Coin, a tokenized deposit product used for institutional payments on a permissioned blockchain. A stablecoin would be different, allowing a digital token to move across wallets, exchanges and applications rather than remaining tied to deposits at a particular bank.

The potential move comes as banks accelerate efforts to develop digital payment infrastructure.

More than a dozen major banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Santander, have advanced plans for a stablecoin venture aimed at commercial customers across G7 currencies. Smaller lenders have also formed the BankChain Alliance, an industry-backed blockchain network intended to support tokenized deposits, bank-issued stablecoins and automated settlement, with a planned launch in 2027.

The developments highlight how the competitive landscape around stablecoins has changed rapidly, including at banks that have historically been skeptical of the technology.

JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has repeatedly questioned the need for stablecoins while acknowledging that banks need to respond to the threat they could pose to traditional payment systems.

On a July 2025 earnings call, Dimon said JPMorgan would participate in both its own deposit coin and stablecoins more broadly, arguing that the bank needed to understand how fintech companies could use the technology to compete with banks.

Fintechs, he said, are “very smart” and are “trying to figure out a way to create bank accounts and get into payment systems and rewards programs.”

Dimon added that he did not understand why customers would want a stablecoin “as opposed to just payment.”

By March 2026, Dimon was more critical of proposals to allow stablecoin issuers to pay yields on customer balances.

“If you want to be a bank, become a bank,” he said, arguing that companies offering yield should face the same capital, liquidity and anti-money-laundering requirements as banks.

Stablecoins were initially developed largely for cryptocurrency markets, providing traders with a way to move dollar-linked assets between exchanges and maintain exposure to the U.S. currency without relying directly on bank accounts.

The market has since expanded into payments, cross-border transfers and other financial applications, increasing pressure on traditional financial institutions to develop their own digital payment capabilities.

A key turning point came with the GENIUS Act, signed into U.S. law in July 2025, establishing a federal framework for payment stablecoins. The law requires issuers to maintain reserves on a one-to-one basis and disclose reserve holdings monthly.

The regulatory framework has helped provide greater certainty for banks and other large financial institutions considering entering the sector, while increasing compliance requirements for issuers.

The global stablecoin market has also grown rapidly. Its total value stood at about $308 billion in mid-August, compared with roughly $205 billion at the beginning of 2025, according to the data cited by Blockhead.

That growth has made stablecoins increasingly relevant to banks’ core businesses, particularly payments and cross-border transactions.

JPMorgan faces a strategic dilemma. Tokenized deposits such as JPM Coin can provide many of the efficiency gains associated with blockchain-based payments while remaining within the traditional banking system. A stablecoin could provide broader interoperability but could also compete with the deposits that help fund a bank’s balance sheet.

The bank’s spokeswoman said customer demand would be a key factor in any decision to launch a stablecoin.

That leaves banks weighing the potential benefits of controlling their own digital payment rails against the risk that stablecoins issued by fintechs and other non-bank companies could take a larger share of payments and treasury activity.

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