JPMorgan has completed its first public blockchain transaction, moving away from years of closed-system development. This isn’t a trial run. It is a completed settlement involving tokenised US Treasuries through Ondo Finance and Chainlink’s interoperability protocol.
For the first time, the largest US bank treats public blockchain as more than an experiment. And for Ondo, this moment could shape its future.
JPMorgan and Ondo Partners For Something New
JPMorgan has operated in blockchain circles for years, but always within private networks. Through Kinexys, its in-house blockchain division formerly called Onyx, the bank has focused on digital settlements in tightly controlled environments.
By late 2024, Kinexys had processed over $1.5 trillion in total volume and grown its payments activity by more than 10 times.
This public move shifts that strategy. In this first public transaction, JPMorgan used Ondo Finance’s OUSG tokenised US Treasuries fund and Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP).
The settlement happened on the testnet of Ondo Chain and was conducted as an atomic Delivery versus Payment (DvP) transaction. In this structure, the asset and payment are exchanged simultaneously and irreversibly.
Chainlink’s CCIP played a crucial role. It enabled communication between JPMorgan’s private Kinexys infrastructure and the public testnet without exposing sensitive internal systems.
This kind of design means future institutional participants could follow suit, connecting existing back-end systems to tokenised assets without building entirely new technology stacks.
Nelli Zaltsman, head of Kinexys, confirmed this step has been in the works for years. She began speaking with Chainlink’s co-founder, Sergey Nazarov, in 2022.
Nazarov noted this is not a simple proof of concept but a functional transaction that shows real intent. The collaboration is not about showcasing tech, it’s about proving real-world readiness.
This single transaction suggests a broader shift. JPMorgan is no longer limiting blockchain to internal trials. It tests public systems’ reliability, starting with Treasuries, a familiar and trusted asset class.
Ondo Finance Gains Recognition from Big Players
For Ondo Finance, this event marks a significant change in exposure. Its focus on bringing real-world assets like US Treasuries onto the blockchain has gained it steady attention within the crypto space.
But now, with JPMorgan using its product in a real transaction, Ondo has moved beyond crypto-native circles.
The OUSG fund, backed by short-term Treasuries, was created as a stable and yield-focused product for on-chain users.
Now, it has been used in a settlement by one of the largest financial institutions in the world. That brings not just headlines but the possibility of future institutional integrations, especially if tokenised government bonds become more widely adopted.
Market sentiment reflects this shift. ONDO has risen by 21% in the past week. While short-term price movements can be driven by hype, this increase likely reflects more than speculative interest.
The transaction shows that Ondo’s products are usable by serious financial players, and that matters in the longer term.
This also gives Ondo an advantage in the tokenised asset space. It is not alone in offering tokenised Treasuries, but it is now the first with a proven public blockchain transaction involving a global bank. That first-mover position is hard to ignore.
By using Chainlink’s CCIP, Ondo has also shown that its products are interoperable. Tokenised assets are only useful if they can move between systems. This transaction proves they can.
As more institutions explore blockchain-based settlements, they will look for infrastructure that can connect with both public and private environments. Ondo is now one of the few that can demonstrate it works in both.
Conclusion
JPMorgan settling a transaction on a public blockchain changes the tone of the institutional conversation.
It suggests that public networks are no longer too risky or unproven to use. With Chainlink’s help, the bank has bridged its private systems with public infrastructure in a way that is both secure and functional.
Ondo Finance’s role in that transaction may shape its future. The protocol is no longer just a player in DeFi, it has entered the conversation among serious institutional adopters.
The rise of tokenised assets is still in its early stages, but Ondo now has something most others do not: a track record of being used by one of the world’s biggest banks.