JP Morgan Rebrands Blockchain Platform, Plans On-Chain Foreign Exchange Services

Financial services firm JP Morgan has rebranded its blockchain-based platform to Kinexys, as it prepares to launch foreign exchange services to serve a growing number of users.

Launched as JPM Coin in 2019 and later renamed to Onyx, the blockchain platform will offer forex transactions to serve its expanding list of global clients, JP Morgan said Wednesday in a statement. The blockchain’s user base has skyrocketed as payment transactions grew 1,000% year-over-year, the banking giant said, leading to the need for infrastructure improvements and new services on the network.

According to JP Morgan, the name Kinexys is derived from the word “kinetic,” suggesting the movement of money, assets and financial information across the world. The renamed platform will also offer features including on-chain privacy, identity, and composability-focused tools on its network. 

“Through cutting-edge infrastructure, our clients are able to easily transfer money across borders past the close of markets, tokenize assets, and seamlessly exchange and validate financial data,” the post reads. 

Kinexys leverages that infrastructure to offer near real-time, 24/7 programmable cross-border transactions and intragroup funding, the firm said, in addition to providing access to working capital and reducing transaction costs for builders and traders.

The blockchain has been able to process approximately $2 billion in daily transaction volumes, in addition to amassing $1.5 trillion in underlying assets of derivatives contracts, the firm’s data shows. Those gains come as the cryptocurrency market experienced a resurgence in recent months.

JP Morgan isn’t the only big bank that has embraced blockchain technology, however. Last year, more than two dozen financial institutions including Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas launched the Canton Network, a blockchain-based real-world asset tokenization platform. Meanwhile, Singaporean bank DBS unveiled earlier this month its eponymous Token Services platform, which offers a suite of tools powered by blockchain technology.

Edited by Andrew Hayward