JPMorgan and Mastercard Make First Cross-border Transaction
BITmarkets Team
May 07, 2026
The pilot transaction involved Ondo Finance redeeming its Ondo Short-Term US Government Treasuries (OUSG) fund for Ripple on the XRP Ledger. Settlement instructions were routed through Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network to JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform, which then transferred US dollars to Ripple’s Singapore-based bank account.
“For the first time, a public blockchain and global banking infrastructure settled a cross-border transaction of a tokenized fund together in real time,” Ondo Finance said Wednesday.
Traditional finance and crypto infrastructure converge
The pilot highlights increasing collaboration between crypto-native firms and traditional financial institutions aiming to develop faster and more cost-efficient global settlement systems that operate beyond standard banking hours. The initiative builds on an earlier test conducted in May 2025 involving JPMorgan and Ondo Finance, where a tokenized Treasury fund was transferred between public and permissioned blockchain networks.
Interest in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization has continued to grow among major financial institutions, with proponents envisioning blockchain-based versions of assets ranging from stocks and bonds to money market funds and real estate.
According to data from RWA.xyz, more than $31.1 billion worth of RWAs—excluding stablecoins—are currently tokenized onchain. Boston Consulting Group previously estimated the tokenization market could reach $16 trillion by 2030, while McKinsey & Company projected a more conservative figure of around $2 trillion over the same period.
Regulation remains a key challenge
Momentum in the tokenization sector has also been supported by developments from traditional exchanges. In January, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced plans to launch a tokenization platform supporting 24/7 trading and instant settlement for stocks and exchange-traded funds using blockchain-based post-trade systems.
Despite the progress, concerns around regulation and systemic risk remain. In an April report, the International Monetary Fund warned that tokenization could shift risks away from traditional banking institutions toward shared ledgers and smart contract systems, potentially making intervention during “stress events” more difficult. The IMF also noted that without legal clarity surrounding ownership records and settlement finality, tokenized markets risk remaining “fragmented and peripheral.”
Similar concerns were raised by Kevin O’Leary during Consensus Miami 2026, where he argued that large-scale institutional tokenization may depend on the passage of crypto market structure legislation in the United States and compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.
Sources:
https://x.com/ben_grossman/status/2052050316657557700