BlackRock, JPMorgan Among 35 Firms Building on Ethereum

Institutions use Ethereum to launch token shares, money market funds, stablecoins, and deposits.

In recent months, 35 of the world’s leading financial and technology companies, including BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Fidelity, have launched new products and services built directly on the Ethereum blockchain.

These moves, detailed in a social media post from Ethereum’s official account, show a rapid acceleration in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) by mainstream institutions.

The trend also highlights Ethereum’s emerging role as the foundational layer of the world’s currencies, extending beyond speculative crypto trading to stocks, bonds, and institutional payments.

Institutions Push Tokenization and Settlement on Public Rails

The Ethereum X account said on January 19 that adoption by financial institutions has accelerated, pointing to initiatives that include token shares, money market funds, stablecoins, and bank deposits.

For example, Kraken launched xStocks on the network, allowing eligible clients to move US stock prices fully integrated on the chain, while Ondo Finance launched a platform with more than 100 US token stocks and ETFs backed by real securities.

Major asset managers have also taken similar steps, with Fidelity launching its tokenized money market fund, FDIT, on Ethereum, and the Hong Kong arm of China Asset Management launching a tokenized USD money market fund, a first from a major Chinese asset manager. In Europe, Amundi launched a tokenized share market fund category for the euro on the Ethereum mainnet.

Banks have also expanded their footprint. JPMorgan migrated its deposit token JPM Coin from the internal blockchain to Base, Ethereum Layer 2, and later launched its first tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, which received $100 million in its capital. In addition, Societe Generale FORGE invested in euro and dollar-lending and trading products in Ethereum-based DeFi protocols.

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Payments and fintech firms joined in, led by Stripe’s expansion of stablecoin subscriptions using USDC on Ethereum, while SoFi released SoFiUSD, becoming the first US retail bank to launch a stablecoin on a public blockchain. Additionally, Google announced an agent payment protocol using stablecoins on Ethereum, developed with partners including the Ethereum Foundation and Coinbase.

Network Growth Meets Questions About Scale and Simplicity

The institution’s push came with an increase in on-chain activity, shown by Ethereum exceeding 30% of supply this month, with about 36.2 million ETH closed, according to Ultrasound Money. Wallet creation also hit a record earlier this month, with nearly 394,000 new addresses created in one day on January 11.

At the same time, the founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin warned on January 18 that the growth of the protocol’s complexity may reduce security and self-governance in the long run, encouraging developers to prioritize simplicity. His comments highlighted the tension between expanding institutional use cases and keeping the constitution clear and robust.

The range of recent announcements shows how Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks are being used as justifications for regulated token currencies, from wallets and equivalents to payments and settlements, while disputes over governance and design continue in parallel.