EVERYTHING
According to Cryptorank, over 15 of the world's largest banks are actively constructing tokenized finance infrastructures on permissioned blockchains. This movement is driven by an institutional preference for governance, privacy, and legal certainty, which often conflicts with the open nature of public networks like Ethereum.
Institutional scale in private blockchain adoption
JPMorgan has emerged as a primary mover in this space with its Kinexys platform. Originally launched as Onyx in 2020 and rebranded in 2024, the platform has processed more than $3 trillion since its inception and currently clears over $7 billion daily. While CEO Jamie Dimon has remained publicly critical of Bitcoin, the bank is aggressively pursuing blockchain technology for settlement and asset management.
The shift toward shared permissioned networks is gaining significant momentum across several major financial entities:
- The Canton Network is hosting efforts by DTCC to tokenize U.S. Treasuries by 2026.
- HSBC has successfully completed a pilot for tokenized deposits on the Canton rails.
- Goldman Sachs utilizes these same networks to settle tokenized bonds.
- The Clearing House is coordinating a shared tokenized deposit network involving more than 15 major banks, with a target launch of 2027.
Impact on public blockchains and Bitcoin
This migration has already begun to reflect in transaction fees. Data from DeFiLlama shows that the Canton Network earned approximately $60 million in fees during a 30-day period ending in late June, significantly outperforming Ethereum's $11 million for the same timeframe. Currently, public chains host roughly $31 billion in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), with about two-thirds concentrated on Ethereum.
JPMorgan analysts argue that if payments and high-value assets move primarily to permissioned systems, public blockchains could suffer a structural decline in activity. While some observers point to MicroStrategy's 4% ownership of the Bitcoin supply as a risk factor, bank analysts categorize this as a source of short-term volatility rather than a fundamental threat. The primary concern remains that the growth of tokenized finance may bypass public networks entirely, favoring regulated unified ledgers over permissionless systems.
The Bank for International Settlements has echoed these concerns, noting that public blockchains face significant scalability and financial integrity hurdles. As banks set the pace for institutional adoption, the ultimate market share for public networks will depend on whether they can offer enough utility to compete with private alternatives.