Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed on November 20 that several major U.S. banks have begun pilot programs with the exchange to test digital asset services, signaling a major shift in the country’s traditional banking sector toward crypto adoption.
The world’s largest financial institutions are going onchain.
This week, Citi partnered with Coinbase to power institutional payments, J.P. Morgan tokenized a private-equity fund on Kinexys, and Standard Chartered projected $2T in tokenized assets by 2028.
The lines between… pic.twitter.com/jqo3N9DVP3
— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) November 2, 2025
Armstrong shared the update during his appearance at the New York Times DealBook Summit, noting that banks are exploring services such as stablecoin integration and institutional crypto custody. Among the participating institutions are major financial players including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, marking a significant pivot in how legacy banks approach the digital-asset market.
JPMorgan and Citi Move Toward Integrated Crypto Services
JPMorgan, which announced a broad strategic partnership with Coinbase in July, plans to begin direct connections between bank accounts and crypto wallets by 2026.
This will allow Chase customers to:
Use Chase credit cards directly on Coinbase
Transfer reward points to Coinbase accounts
Seamlessly interact with digital wallets
Citigroup is also collaborating with Coinbase to develop institutional digital-asset settlement infrastructure, combining Citi’s global financial network with Coinbase’s blockchain technology. The goal is to streamline cross-border payments and modernize settlement systems.
Regulatory Shifts Behind Banks’ Accelerated Crypto Adoption
The rapid push by U.S. banks follows regulatory changes introduced under the 2025 GENIUS Act, which defined new requirements for stablecoin reserves and clarified the differences between what banks and crypto exchanges may offer in interest-bearing products.
Banks have expressed concern that Coinbase’s 4.1% rewards on USDC holdings could undermine traditional deposit accounts. Armstrong countered that banks are resisting crypto to preserve legacy advantages, adding that market competition , not protectionism , should guide regulation.
The economic incentives are also impossible to ignore. Stablecoin payment volume reached USD 5.7 trillion in 2025, and analysts estimate that by 2030, stablecoins could represent 20% of all global cross-border transactions.
Armstrong warned that banks refusing to adopt digital assets risk being “left behind.”
Industry Leaders Align on Crypto Future
At the summit, Armstrong appeared alongside BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, highlighting growing alignment between traditional finance and the crypto industry. With spot Bitcoin ETFs already proving successful, markets now anticipate a wave of new digital-asset-backed financial products.
