JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) evaluated launching its own stablecoin as major banks shift from fighting the technology to building it, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday.

Why Banks Are Changing Their Minds

The WSJ reported that banks spent the past year lobbying against stablecoins while pushing tokenized deposits as their preferred alternative. 

That position is now softening as major nonbank companies including Visa (NYSE:V), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and DoorDash (NASDAQ:DASH) move into a stablecoin market long dominated by Tether and Circle.

JPMorgan already operates JPM Coin, a tokenized deposit, and its own blockchain. A spokeswoman told the Journal the bank has no current plans to issue a stablecoin but added: “Depending on customer demand and the evolution of the regulatory landscape, we would of course evaluate all options in the future.”

What the Major Bank Consortium Is Planning

According to the Journal, a group of more than a dozen financial institutions including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), and Santander has been moving forward on a joint stablecoin venture focused initially on the dollar, followed by the euro and eventually other G7 currencies. 

The product would target the commercial side of their businesses with use cases varying by region.

Separately, a consortium of 39 state bankers associations representing roughly 3,000 banks unveiled plans Tuesday for a blockchain platform called the BankChain Alliance. 

The platform follows the Federal Home Loan Bank model and will support tokenized deposits and stablecoins across treasury management, supply-chain finance, and cash management, with a launch planned for the first half of 2027.

Why the Distinction Between Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits Matters

Tokenized deposits put traditional bank deposits on a blockchain while preserving their existing regulatory treatment and keeping the funds within the banking system.

Stablecoins move freely across public blockchains like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) but lack deposit insurance and typically operate on public networks banks do not control.

Banks have fought stablecoin yield provisions in the Clarity Act specifically because yield-bearing stablecoins could pull deposits out of the banking system entirely.

What The OCC Said

OCC head Jonathan Gould told the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium last week that stablecoins now appear routinely in bank business plans submitted for regulatory review.

That shift in posture coincides with World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO: WLFI), the Trump family’s crypto venture, receiving preliminary conditional approval from the OCC to become a bank and issue its USD1 stablecoin upon final approval.

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