JPMorgan Chase & Co. is launching a pilot for JPMD, a token representing dollar deposits, which will be transferred to Coinbase via the public blockchain Base. “It’s the first time that a commercial bank is putting commercial money, a deposit-based product, on a public chain and we are starting with Base,” said Naveen Mallela, global co-head of JPMorgan’s blockchain division, Kinexys. The token, denominated in dollars, will initially be available to institutional clients, with future expansion to other users and currencies pending regulatory approval. JPMorgan sees deposit tokens like JPMD as a more scalable and compliant alternative to stablecoins. “From an institutional standpoint, deposit tokens are a superior alternative to stablecoins,” Mallela said, citing potential advantages such as interest-bearing features and deposit insurance. The initiative supports JPMorgan’s broader blockchain push, building on its Kinexys Digital Payments network, which processes over $2 billion daily. Mallela noted, “We think it is more scalable.” The pilot also enhances Base, Coinbase’s public blockchain built on Ethereum, which has grown rapidly due to low fees and fast transaction speeds. The move reflects easing regulatory stances under the Trump administration and a growing trend among major banks like Santander and Deutsche Bank to explore digital assets.
JPMorganChase chief data officer prioritizes modernizing the group’s data so that it can be published in a way that is consistent and understandable by LLMs
Mark Birkhead, firmwide chief data officer of JPMorganChase, said the bank is focused on a multi-year effort to pull humans out of the cycle for fixing data. In 2024 the bank set up a firmwide chief data and analytics office so that all its data initiatives were under one umbrella, led by Teresa Heitsenrether, chief data and analytics officer. She reports to chairman and chief executive, Jamie Dimon, and is part of the operating committee. Birkhead’s role as chief data officer is to oversee the team that sets the central data strategy for the firm in partnership with the business. Birkhead explained that the bank operates in almost 100 countries and across its consumer businesses, investment banking, asset and wealth management and payments. As a result, more than an exabyte of data moves across the firm in any day in many forms , including structured and unstructured data, voice and video files. An exabyte of data is so large that it has been estimated that all the words ever spoken or written by humans in every language since the beginning of mankind would fit on five exabytes. “Our data strategy centers on how we can best deliver all types of data assets and curate them in a way that is discoverable, highly accurate, and highly governed and controlled,” added Birkhead. “That last part is really critical for us as a bank because our customers count on us to keep their information private.” The group has built many data governance systems to ensure data risks are managed to respect privacy and is now investing in bringing them together into a central platform. A critical focus is modernizing the group’s data so that it can be published in a way that is consistent and understandable by large language models (LLMs) used in artificial intelligence and generative AI models. JPMorgan Chase has created an LLM Suite, which provides employees with access to LLM models. There are currently 200,000 users on LLM Suite, according to Birkhead. He continued that the bank is “particularly excited” about AI agents systems with more reasoning capabilities. Another focus is launching more data products and ensuring they are interchangeable, interoperable, and reusable. The final focus is ensuring that data is available in milliseconds.
The passage of the GENIUS Act in Senate removes a major barrier to entry — legal risk — and adds institutional-grade legitimacy to stablecoins and crypto generally
The U.S. Senate approved the GENIUS Act — landmark stablecoin legislation — with a 68–30 vote, moving it closer to President Trump’s goal of signing it before the August recess. With the GENIUS Act, we’re bringing clarity to a sector that’s been clouded by uncertainty and proving that bipartisan, principled leadership can still deliver real results for the American people,” said U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C. Still, before reaching Trump’s desk, the bill must clear the House, where the August recess begins in around 50 days. But the political theater surrounding what could be the passage of the first-ever crypto framework in the U.S, the global implications for dollar-backed digital currencies and the growing institutional embrace of blockchain infrastructure tell a much larger story about rewriting the architecture of money itself. The momentum behind the GENIUS Act is increasingly being taken as a sign of approval by the broader crypto and traditional financial spaces. The stablecoin issuer Circle, for example, has gone public on the NYSE, while corporate interest in stablecoins is no longer theoretical. Major financial institutions including Bank of America (BofA), Wells Fargo and Citigroup are exploring the launch of a jointly operated stablecoin. JPMorgan announced that it is planning to offer its own stablecoin, JPMD. “Everybody’s jumping into stablecoins right now,” Brett McLain, head of payments and blockchain at Kraken, told. “All the big banks, they’re talking about creating their own; others want to leverage existing ones. Retail giants like Walmart and Amazon are exploring embedded payments powered by stablecoins. And global banks from Société Générale to Banco Santander are experimenting with cross-border liquidity management using on-chain dollar tokens. The passage of the GENIUS Act removes a major barrier to entry — legal risk — and adds institutional-grade legitimacy to what was once a speculative fringe technology.
Klarna offers mobile phone plans in U.S to deliver “a seamlessly integrated mobile experience that bundles premium connectivity with financial tools”
Klarna is the latest financial services provider to enter the mobile market, working with Telecom-as-a-Service platform Gigs to launch a phone plan in a host of major markets, beginning with the US. BNPL giant Klarna is offering its 25 million active users in the US a single plan, including uncapped, unlimited 5G data, talk, and text for $40 a month, with coverage on the AT&T network. Citing research showing that half of Americans believe switching phone plans is too difficult, Klarna says its users can transfer their existing number, or get a new one, and activate their phone plan in a few taps within the Klarna app, without any phone calls, paperwork, or store visits. Premium and international plans will roll out later this year, as well as services in the UK, Germany, and other markets. Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO, Klarna, says: “Klarna has saved consumers time and money, and reduced financial worry for over 20 years. With mobile plans we’re taking that one step further, as we continue to build our neobank offering.” Hermann Frank, CEO, Gigs, adds: “Now, consumers can expect a seamlessly integrated mobile experience that bundles premium connectivity with financial tools, all through the apps they already know and love.” Klarna is following in the footsteps of German neobank N26 and Revolut, who have each dipped a toe into the water with their own phone plans for subscribers.
TD Bank’s automation drive helps it rise up the US league tables in investment grade corporate bond transactions on MarketAxess
TD is winning more Wall Street business trading bonds, and doing it with fewer people. The Canadian bank has built up a computer-driven trading team over the past few years that has helped it rise up the US league tables in investment grade corporate bond transactions on the biggest venue for electronic bond trading, MarketAxess Holdings Inc. The bank rose from 20th in 2021, to 9th last year and 6th so far this year — leapfrogging bigger banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. in total number of trades — and it is now at the top of the tables for municipal bond trading. To do this, it has doubled its automation team in the last four years and poached automation experts from rivals like JPMorgan. But the algorithmic trading has allowed it to shed even more employees from the ranks of old-school voice traders who used to dominate the fixed income world from their phones, according to the co-heads of TD Securities Automated Trading, Marty Mannion and Matt Schrager. The changes at TD offer a window into the automation that is sweeping the fixed income industry more broadly and making jobs redundant across Wall Street. Last year, 48% of US investment-grade bonds traded electronically, up from 34% in 2021, according to Crisil Coalition Greenwich. Schrager and Mannion declined to offer a specific number of jobs that have been reduced and said that humans continue to be a necessary part of their operation, in part to oversee the computers and in part to handle trades that are large or require the discretion that a phone conversation can offer. But they estimate that more than 90% of transactions will eventually be automated. TD’s efforts to take advantage of this are a central part of the bank’s ambitions to join the big leagues on Wall Street. The push is particularly important for TD because it is trying to recover from one of the worst money-laundering scandals in US banking history, which led to a $3.1 billion fine and a cap on the size of its US retail banking business.
New report shows while 85% of organizations trust their BI dashboards, only 58% say the same for their AI/ML model outputs, implying trust in AI remains elusive
Ataccama’s new report in partnership with BARC finds that while 58% of organizations have implemented or optimized data observability programs – systems that monitor detect, and resolve data quality and pipeline issues in real-time – 42% still say they do not trust the outputs of their AI/ML models. The findings reflect a critical shift. Adoption is no longer a barrier. Most organizations have tools in place to monitor pipelines and enforce data policies. But trust in AI remains elusive. While 85% of organizations trust their BI dashboards, only 58% say the same for their AI/ML model outputs. The gap is widening as models rely increasingly on unstructured data and inputs that traditional observability tools were never designed to monitor or validate. 51% of respondents cite skills gaps as a primary barrier to observability maturity, followed by budget constraints and lack of cross-functional alignment. But leading teams are pushing it further, embedding observability into designing, delivering, and maintaining data across domains. When observability is deeply connected to automated data quality, teams gain more than visibility: they gain confidence that the data powering their models can be trusted. The report also underscores how unstructured data is reshaping observability strategies. Kevin Petrie, Vice President at BARC said “We’re seeing a shift: leading enterprises aren’t just monitoring data; they’re addressing the full lifecycle of AI/ML inputs. That means automating quality checks, embedding governance controls into data pipelines, and adapting their processes to observe dynamic unstructured objects. This report shows that observability is evolving from a niche practice into a mainstream requirement for Responsible AI.”
TD Bank survey finds 70% of Americans are comfortable with AI being used for fraud detection and 64% for credit score calculations, while 43% would use AI in combination with a human advisor for financial planning
According to a new TD Bank survey, 89% of respondents say they are comfortable using and adapting to new technology in their daily life, while about seven in ten (68%) say they are at least somewhat familiar with artificial intelligence (AI), its uses and applications in their day-to-day lives. Half (50%) of respondents trust AI to provide reliable, competent information, and 65% see its potential to expand access to financial tools, a sign that perceptions are shifting as AI tools become more familiar and visible in everyday life. The survey revealed that Americans trust AI just as much as news stations (50%) and twice as much as social media influencers (25%) to provide information that is honest, reliable and competent. However, consumers still place greater trust in friends and family (90%) and banks (83%) for accurate information. A majority of Americans are comfortable with AI being used for fraud detection (70%) and credit score calculations (64%). While fewer are ready to hand over major decisions, 44% say they are comfortable using self-serve AI enabled tools to manage investments, and 43% would use AI in combination with a human advisor for financial planning, showing significant interest in hybrid solutions. As for personal finance choices, respondents were most comfortable using AI financial tools for budgeting (60%) and automating savings goals (59%) but showed less confidence in AI handling more intricate tasks such as retirement planning (48%) and investing (44%). 51% see value in AI improving financial decision-making, indicating a path forward as comfort and awareness increase. Interestingly, 48% agree that using AI would help them avoid embarrassing discussions with bank representatives, suggesting AI can improve approachability and drive self-service functionality. As a result of banks implementing AI, many Americans expect benefits such as 24/7 banking access (48%), improved transaction efficiency (40%) and reduced costs (32%).
Maven AGI’s AI agents support the full customer journey with a focus on complex, high-friction environments by unifying systems, syncing functions, and orchestrating real-time action across the enterprise
Maven AGI, the enterprise AI company unifying the full customer journey, has raised $50 million in Series B funding. The company’s Business AGI platform integrates seamlessly with enterprise systems to resolve issues, surface real-time insights, and improve performance at every customer touchpoint. Maven AGI builds enterprise-ready AI agents to support the full customer journey, with a focus on complex, high-friction enterprise environments. Its platform serves as a connected, intelligent operating layer that unifies systems, syncs functions, and orchestrates real-time action across the enterprise. Maven’s mission is to build Business AGI. “With fragmented systems slowing innovation, enterprises are urgently seeking a unified approach. Maven delivers on that need with AI that securely connects people, systems, and data across the entire customer lifecycle,” said Jonathan Corbin, CEO and co-founder of Maven AGI. The Series B funding will fuel Maven’s continued expansion, including accelerated product development and go-to-market efforts. In a fast-moving market, the company is prioritizing rapid distribution and working closely with a network of partners and investors who have scaled some of the most successful technology companies in the world.
By utilizing a regulated deposit token rather than a conventional stablecoin, JPMorgan is aiming to preserve the structural rigor of traditional commercial banking within a digital framework, balancing interoperability with control on a Layer 2 network
JPMorgan Chase has launched a product called a “deposit token” that will serve as a digital representation of commercial bank money and will be available only to the bank’s institutional clients. The tokens, known as JPMD, are minted by JPMorgan and transmitted to participating institutional clients, including Coinbase, via smart contract transactions on the Base network. At all times, each unit of JPMD is fully backed by a corresponding fiat deposit, ensuring parity between on-chain representation and off-chain liability. The JPMD launch marks the first time a major commercial bank has deployed deposit-based products on a public blockchain, but the timing isn’t coincidental. Though modest in immediate scale, being entirely in-house, J.P. Morgan’s deposit token pilot provides insight into how large financial institutions may navigate the evolving demands of settlement efficiency, regulatory compliance, and market participation in a tokenized environment. Against the backdrop of regulatory and marketplace momentum in the U.S., it is increasingly evident that the architecture of digital finance may not be defined solely by startups and technologists. Large, regulated institutions are increasingly not merely adapting to this evolution; but they are beginning to shape it in their own image. Other major banks such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and others, have reportedly been in talks to launch joint stablecoins or tokens. JPMorgan’s early move positions it as the first among equals. Although, as the bank stresses, JPMD is a deposit token and not a stablecoin. At a technical level, the JPMD token is conceived as a digital representation of U.S. dollar deposits held at JPMorgan. These tokens are issued in direct correspondence with balances in client accounts and are not free-floating or algorithmically stabilized. JPMorgan’s strategic intent appears twofold. First, by utilizing a regulated deposit token rather than a conventional stablecoin, JPMorgan is aiming to preserve the structural rigor of traditional commercial banking within a digital framework. Second, the decision to conduct the pilot on Base, a Layer 2 Ethereum-compatible network operated with institutional oversight mechanisms, may suggest a cautious but deliberate attempt to balance interoperability with control.
JP Morgan met with SEC’s Crypto Task Force to discuss tokenized collateral with reference to the bank’s permissioned blockchain, Kinexys, intraday repo solution Digital Financing and a bond issuance platform called Digital Debt Services
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) posted a memo detailing a meeting between its Crypto Task Force and JP Morgan. While the task force primarily handles cryptocurrency issues, it also oversees tokenization matters that increasingly affect traditional finance (TradFi) companies. JP Morgan’s meeting agenda revealed three key discussion points: an overview of its existing digital finance services including repo solutions and debt platforms, analysis of how capital markets activity might migrate to public blockchains, and plans for future regulatory engagement. The discussion likely centered heavily on tokenized collateral, an area where multiple regulators are actively involved. The CFTC is currently running tokenized collateral pilots for derivatives margin posting, and the DTCC is launching its own platform. The CME is also participating in this space. Tokenization offers a solution by allowing institutions to transfer tokenized securities directly to meet margin requirements without selling underlying assets. JP Morgan’s recent announcement of JPMD deposit tokens on the Base public blockchain further addresses cash collateral needs, providing an alternative to stablecoins. The bank already operates a tokenized collateral solution on its permissioned blockchain, Kinexys, alongside an intraday repo solution called Digital Financing and a bond issuance platform called Digital Debt Services. However, using permissioned blockchains creates integration challenges that public blockchains can ease.