Building the Blockchain Blueprint: How Leading FIs Are Modernizing Money, Markets and Trust

Blockchain technology is beginning to move from a crypto-specific concept into a potential component of core banking infrastructure. Once the domain of startups, it is now part of how global institutions such as Citi, J.P. Morgan, Visa and others are exploring the future of payments and liquidity management. From tokenized deposits and programmable payments to the settlement of digital assets, the technology previously seen as a niche outlier is increasingly being considered as part of the operating system for modern finance.

As the landscape shifts from proof of concept to production, blockchain technology is becoming a part of the connective tissue linking payments, deposits and markets—one component of a shared digital architecture that brings new efficiency while preserving the trust on which global finance depends. This Tracker explores where programmable finance is finding real-world traction, what leading institutions are building today, and what these advances mean for treasury, operations and risk leaders alike. But before we dig into the details, here’s a little background for nontechnical readers.

A One-Minute Primer for Nontechnical Executives

What it is: A blockchain is a shared database, designed to be tamper-resistant, that multiple parties can update. Think of it as a common ledger—kept in sync across institutions—where every entry is time-stamped, auditable and hard to alter retroactively. Permissioned blockchains limit access to vetted participants (banks, payment networks, corporates). Public blockchains are open to anyone. Both support tokens and coins, which are digital representations of money, claims or assets that can move and settle in near real time.

Why it matters: In banking, blockchains can potentially reduce manual reconciliations, shorten settlement windows and make money programmable. For treasurers and operations leaders, that could mean efficient liquidity management and the ability to commercially interact with underbanked regions. For risk and compliance teams, it could also mean greater traceability if designed accordingly.

How to read this: Below, we organize today’s institutional blockchain activity around five use cases your teams are prioritizing: tokenized deposits; cross-border payments; shared ledgers for supply chains; liquidity for assets, including fixed holdings such as real estate; and security and identity. We also address some of the challenges inherent in choosing between public and private blockchain networks.
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1) Tokenized Deposits: Programmable Bank Money for 24/7 Liquidity

Tokenized deposits are bank-issued digital representations of traditional deposits recorded on a blockchain. They’re backed one-to-one by deposits, operate within existing regulatory frameworks and can be automated (for example, to sweep cash, release escrow or trigger conditional payouts). For corporate clients, they turn static balances into always-available working capital.

J.P. Morgan has extended JPM Coin—its permissioned platform that lets clients transfer dollar deposits on a private blockchain—and announced plans for a USD deposit token to settle transactions on Coinbase’s Base network. Together, these initiatives give institutions compliant, round-the-clock access to liquidity. Citi is advancing a similar vision through Citi Token Services, which enables real-time movement of tokenized deposits within its network. Other institutions such as HSBC have also announced plans for tokenized deposits. In parallel, industry groups and consortia are exploring models such as the Regulated Liability Network (RLN) and participating in BIS-sponsored Project Agora—separate initiatives that aim to connect commercial-bank deposits, central-bank money and other regulated liabilities on shared ledgers to support instant settlement between trusted counterparties.

In fact, Citi’s “Real Time: 24/7 Finance in an Always-On World” article points to a new baseline: continuous liquidity that shifts treasury operations from reactive to predictive and data-driven. For CFOs, that looks like intraday cash positioning without cutoffs; for controllers, like automated reconciliation; and for risk teams, like programmable controls around when, where and how funds can move.

2) Cross-Border Payments: Instant Value Exchange Across Markets

For decades, cross-border transfers moved along correspondent banking networks. Today, banks and FinTechs can also use blockchain rails to move verified value almost instantly—cutting time and uncertainty.

J.P. Morgan’s journey started with the Interbank Information Network, later Liink on the Onyx platform, to pre-validate transaction data. In 2024, the bank’s blockchain arm was rebranded as Kinexys to unite payments, tokenization and programmable-money capabilities. Citi likewise integrated Citi Token Services with 24/7 USD Clearing to support real-time payments between its clients and those of participating third-party institutions on a permissioned platform. Networks are adapting, too: Visa B2B Connect routes transactions directly between banks on blockchain, and Mastercard is piloting programmable payments for conditional settlement and instant clearing. Ripple expanded RippleNet to offer near-instant cross-border transfers using tokenized fiat and the XRP Ledger for liquidity bridging.

3) Shared Ledgers for Supply Chains: From Paperwork to Shared Truth

Trade finance has been defined by paper, siloed information and post-fact reconciliation. Distributed ledgers potentially replace all that with a single source of truth that participants can rely on—reducing fraud risk and accelerating funding in jurisdictions where digital contracts are accepted by law.

Among the initiatives leading this shift was Contour, founded by banks including Citi, HSBC and ING. It was acquired by FinTech firm Xalts in early 2025, with Xalts continuing its work in digitizing letters of credit (LCs) and related processes across the existing network. Similarly, Komgo digitizes trade documents such as LCs and guarantees, offering real-time verification that helps banks and corporates reduce fraud and speed capital. Even retired platforms left durable standards: TradeLens (IBM and Maersk) pushed open-data models now adopted elsewhere, and the former Marco Polo Network by TradeIX and R3 automated receivables and payments via smart contracts—validating transactions in real time and releasing funds automatically once terms were met. The upshot: fewer disputes, faster cash, better auditability.

4) Liquidity Meets Transparency in Asset Tokenization

Tokenization is changing how institutions can issue, trade and hold assets. By representing ownership of securities, funds and even real estate on shared ledgers, banks can combine market liquidity with blockchain transparency for faster settlement, real-time ownership records and more granular control over transfers.

A few milestones illustrate the arc. BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund—launched in March 2024—became the first tokenized U.S. Treasury fund for qualified investors on a public chain, enabling instant settlement and verifiable ownership. Goldman Sachs expanded its Digital Asset Platform to issue tokenized bonds and structured products with same-day clearing and real-time portfolio visibility. Citi collaborated with the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) to connect traditional custody with blockchain-based infrastructures for tokenized private-market assets. Across Europe, BNP Paribas and Société Générale are issuing tokenized funds under MiCA, the comprehensive European Union framework for governing digital assets, while the European Central Bank continues integration work in 2025. The direction is clear: Tokenized markets have the potential to compress post-trade timelines and unlock new distribution channels and investor bases.

5) Security and Identity: Compliance, Built Into the Code

As digital assets enter mainstream banking, innovation and regulation are converging in software. Policymakers are testing privacy and anti-money laundering (AML) controls inside payment instruments, while banks adopt analytics and shared utilities to verify identity and provenance.

In particular, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) FinTech Note (August 2025) outlined how central banks can embed safeguards within central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)—digital forms of a country’s fiat currency issued and regulated by its central bank. The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Orchid tests programmable payments with built-in identity verification, and the United Kingdom’s Project Rosalind—a Bank of England and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) collaboration—prototyped an application programming interface (API) framework that connected banks, FinTechs and merchants for secure CBDC payments. On the private side, partners like Chainalysis and Elliptic give banks tools to detect illicit activity across public and permissioned ledgers. Many banks are also building shared know your customer (KYC) utilities to store verified credentials on permissioned networks—aligning compliance and privacy.

Blockchain in Action: Quick Reference

Tokenized Deposits & Digital Cash: 24/7 liquidity, programmable cash flows, streamlined treasury. Examples: Citi (RLN), JPM Coin, HSBC
Cross-Border Payments: Instant settlement, lower FX/compliance costs, full traceability. Examples: Citi, J.P. Morgan, Ripple, Visa
Trade Finance & Supply Chain: Faster documentation, reduced fraud, verifiable provenance. Examples: Contour/Xalts (Citi, HSBC, ING), Komgo
Asset Tokenization & Custody: Fractional ownership, instant settlement, transparent reporting. Examples: BlackRock (BUIDL), Goldman Sachs, Citi + SDX
Regulated Identity & Compliance: Built-in KYC/AML controls, secure data sharing, enhanced auditability. Examples: MAS CBDC Pilot, BoE Project Rosalind, IMF FinTech Note

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Initial Challenges: Public vs. Private Blockchains

As blockchain shifts from experimentation to potential implementation in global finance, the question is no longer whether blockchain networks will shape money movement but how they will do so in a controlled, compliant and scalable way across borders, currencies and institutions. As volumes rise and real-world, scalable use cases emerge, the key design choice now sits at the foundation: whether to transact on public, permissionless networks or private, permissioned chains that replicate institutional controls.

That decision is not abstract. Public chains offer global reach—an advantage that can support tokenized deposits, cross-border transfers and real-time settlement. But they also introduce questions around risk exposure, liability, regulatory treatment, sanctions compliance and identity assurance, requiring banks to evaluate how they safeguard funds and verify counterparties in an open ecosystem.

Private chains, by contrast, provide data privacy, operational control and governance, with defined participants and rule sets. Yet they can face challenges, since scale, liquidity and network effects may develop more slowly when access is limited.

As banks accelerate pilots into production, many are evaluating the adoption of hybrid approaches, choosing networks case-by-case based on the functions they need to perform and the risks they must manage.

These architectural questions are not roadblocks but design milestones. As institutions move further into rollout, policy frameworks will shape how fast the next wave of adoption unfolds. The foundation is now in place. The next step is alignment on standards and oversight—and that is where our next Tracker turns.

Public vs. Private Blockchains: Risk, Liability and Scale

In practice, banks are advancing along two parallel blockchain tracks. Public, permissionless networks enable open settlement rails and global liquidity—key to tokenized cash, programmable settlement and institutional decentralized finance (DeFi) access. But they raise material considerations: who holds liability when funds move across a public chain, how risk and AML controls are enforced, and how legal frameworks apply at scale.

Private, permissioned networks give institutions confidence around identity, data control and transaction governance, aligning more naturally with existing regulatory expectations. Their challenge is achieving critical mass: If participation is limited, liquidity may remain fragmented and network efficiency could be constrained.

The emerging reality is convergence, not competition. Leading banks increasingly are looking to pursue selective interoperability, leveraging private networks for controlled flows and public chains for reach: a model that mirrors early internet adoption and positions blockchain as a shared financial infrastructure layer.

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Conclusion: The Next Chapter of Regulated Digital Finance

Blockchain technology’s widespread institutional adoption is imminent. The largest banks and payment networks are no longer testing—they’re building. The next frontier is alignment: interoperability, standards and policies that connect private-sector innovation with public-sector oversight. The future of finance won’t merely adapt to blockchain; increasingly, it will be built on it.

At Citi, we’re actively exploring the future of finance with solutions like Citi Token Services, advancing programmable money and 24/7 liquidity. We’re not only adopting blockchain technology but also harnessing it to help solve our clients’ evolving needs safely and soundly.”

Biswarup Chatterjee
Head of Partnerships and Innovation, Citi Services