Wall Street Giants, JPMorgan’s Onyx Focuses on Developing Blockchain Proofs of Concept

Prominent financial entities on Wall Street are redirecting their attention towards the industrialization of proofs-of-concept (PoCs) created within the blockchain initiative known as Project Guardian.

JPMorgan’s blockchain platform, Onyx, is particularly interested in transforming the insights obtained from its pilot project with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) into concrete products.

At the TokenizeThis event in Miami on May 10, Stephanie Lok, product manager for JPMorgan’s Onyx, indicated that the firm is concentrating on investment fund tokenization as a primary area of interest.

“That’s a very significant focus area: how can we kind of productionize, industrialize what we built out as a proof-of-concept?” Lok remarked.

WisdomTree Emphasizes Interest in RWA Tokenization

Another established firm significantly engaged in the transition to blockchain-enabled finance is WisdomTree, an asset management company.

Maredith Hannon, head of business development at WisdomTree, underscored the firm’s interest in customizing portfolios and integrating portfolios with checking accounts.

Hannon further discussed the potential advantages of real-world asset tokenization for investor portfolios, envisioning the capability to create numerous allocation variations and risk profiles.

WisdomTree is also investigating the provision of various on-chain services through a consolidated interface for its clients.

The firm aims to merge diverse financial services, including tokenized portfolios and conventional banking services, into a single application.

“Deliver that end value of being able to use your money more effectively. Being able to be in the market, in a money market fund earning 5% versus earning pretty much nothing in your checking account.”

As a leading asset manager involved in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), WisdomTree contributes its expertise and experience to the Project Guardian initiative.

Initiated in May 2022, Project Guardian aims to investigate decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and asset tokenization within wholesale funding markets.

The initiative emphasizes the development of open and interoperable networks, institutional-grade DeFi protocols, asset tokenization, and reliable infrastructure.

JPMorgan, DBS Bank, SBI Digital Asset Holdings, and WisdomTree are the primary participants in Project Guardian, collaborating to evaluate the feasibility of DeFi and asset tokenization on a broader scale.

Tokenized Funds Continue to Gain Popularity

In a report released earlier this year, Moody’s, a leading investment risk assessment organization, disclosed that the value of tokenized funds increased from $100 million at the start of 2023 to around $800 million, propelled by the growing tokenization of U.S. treasuries.

The report noted that both public and private blockchains are experiencing the incorporation of various assets.

Some notable instances include Franklin Templeton’s U.S. Government Money Fund expanding from Stellar to Polygon, Backed Finance launching a tokenized short-term U.S. treasury bond exchange-traded fund (ETF), and UBS Asset Management implementing a tokenized money market fund (MMF) on the Ethereum blockchain.

According to Moody’s, the tokenization of MMFs presents the opportunity to merge their stability with the technological benefits of stablecoins.

Recently, DigiFT, a fintech company based in Singapore, also announced the introduction of its US Treasury bill depository receipt (DR) tokens.

Similarly, Turkey’s Misyon Bank has revealed its collaboration with Swiss firm Taurus to utilize its digital asset custody and tokenization technology.

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