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21 October 2026 · Naimint team · 4 min read

JPMorgan and HSBC on Canton: what the banks announced

Two of the world's largest banks have taken tokenised deposits to the Canton Network. Here's what each has announced, in their own words, and what it suggests for banks that are earlier on the journey.

In 2026, JPMorgan and HSBC each announced work on tokenised deposits on the Canton Network, a public network built for regulated institutions with configurable privacy. JPMorgan announced a phased plan to issue its USD deposit token natively on Canton during 2026. HSBC announced a completed pilot, simulating the issuance, transfer and atomic settlement of its Tokenised Deposit Service on Canton. Both are bank-issued deposit tokens, not stablecoins.

This post summarises what each bank has said publicly, as of 21 October 2026. Each fact links to its source.

What has JPMorgan announced?

On 7 January 2026, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan and Digital Asset announced plans to bring JPM Coin (JPMD) natively to the Canton Network, according to The Block and Decrypt.

  • What JPMD is: a deposit token issued by J.P. Morgan that represents US dollar deposits held at the bank, aimed at institutional clients for near-instant, round-the-clock transfers and settlement.
  • Where it runs today: JPMD launched first on Base, an Ethereum layer 2 network, in November 2025. Canton is its second network.
  • What's planned: the deployment on Canton is phased through 2026, so that JPMD can be issued, transferred and redeemed directly on Canton.
  • What may follow: Kinexys said it was considering further integrations, including bringing J.P. Morgan's Blockchain Deposit Accounts to Canton.

Status: an announced, phased plan. The coverage describes the Canton rollout in future terms, so check the latest Kinexys announcements before treating any phase as live.

What has HSBC announced?

HSBC's Tokenised Deposit Service (TDS) has been live for corporate clients since 2025. HSBC launched it in Hong Kong on 22 May 2025, and it has since been extended to other markets. Corporate clients can convert fiat deposits into digital tokens one-for-one and transfer them instantly on HSBC's own ledger.

On 13 April 2026, HSBC's Global Payments Solutions business announced a successful pilot on the Canton Network, also reported by Canton Network.

  • What the pilot did: it simulated the issuance, transfer and atomic settlement of TDS on Canton, in a controlled environment with Canton-enabled applications and digital assets.
  • Why it matters: HSBC said it was the first time TDS was issued and used on a public blockchain, connecting HSBC's own deposit ledger with an external network.
  • What it explored: how Canton could connect to further settlement rails, so that delivery-versus-payment can cover both the cash leg and the asset leg.
  • What TDS supports: USD, GBP, EUR, HKD and SGD, with round-the-clock, real-time settlement and programmable payments.

Status: TDS is live on HSBC's own ledger. The Canton work announced in April 2026 was a simulated pilot, not a live client service on Canton.

What do the two approaches have in common?

Both banks:

  • issue the token themselves, as a claim on deposits held at the bank, rather than through a third-party stablecoin issuer;
  • keep the deposit on the bank's own books, with tokens backed one-for-one;
  • see Canton as a way to connect bank-issued money with other institutions and with tokenised assets, including atomic settlement of a cash leg against an asset leg.

They also differ. HSBC's service started on its own ledger, moving tokens between its own corporate clients, and is now testing a public network. JPMorgan has issued its token on more than one network.

What does this mean for other banks?

The pattern both banks follow is worth noting: bank-issued tokens, backed by the bank's own deposits, first used between the bank's own clients and then connected to a shared network. Building that took both banks dedicated programmes.

For banks that want the same capability without building it from scratch, the hard part is not the token. It is the connection between the core banking system and the network: making sure the core moves first, that the bank's own keys sign, that every token stays backed and reconciled, and that the bank remains the network member.

That is the layer Naimint provides, as software deployed in the bank's own cloud. Phase 1 runs intra-bank on a private Canton domain and is available for pilots; Phase 2 adds interbank networks. Network names here describe technical compatibility only and don't imply any partnership. See how a mint works, step by step.

Sources