A new report released by Ripple in partnership with CB Insights and the UK Centre for Blockchain Technologies shows that Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs have been leading the way as some of the most active traditional financial institutions investing in blockchain technology.
The report, which studied over 1,800 banks from 2020 to 2024, also highlights a growing shift in how legacy financial institutions are approaching digital assets.
Wall Street’s blockchain bets
Between 2020 and 2024, global banks participated in 345 blockchain investments, 33 of which were mega-rounds.
The global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) reportedly made 106 investments in blockchain companies. This also includes 14 megaround deals exceeding $100 million between 2020 and 2024.
Among the G-SIBs, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs led with 18 investment deals each, followed closely by JPMorgan Chase and Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group with 15 apiece.
The majority of these deals were early-stage investments, especially seed and Series A rounds. The report notes that this suggests a willingness by banks to identify and support emerging firms whose solutions align with long-term strategic goals. The most commonly funded use cases were institutional trading and tokenization infrastructure, payments, and digital asset custody.
JPMorgan Chase has made headlines in recent years for piloting its own blockchain-based networks, including the Kinexys platform. The bank conducted its first public blockchain transaction using tokenized U.S. Treasuries in partnership with Chainlink and Ondo Finance.
Separately, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have each established multiple blockchain partnerships aimed at exploring tokenized assets and improving capital market infrastructure.
Other notable examples include Partior, a real-time cross-border payment platform that raised $111 million in a Series B round in 2024, backed by JPMorgan and Standard Chartered. The Luxembourg-based HQLAx also secured investment from five G-SIBs, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citigroup, for its blockchain-based securities finance solution.
TradFi preferred to partner, invest, not buy
It was also observed that most G-SIBs preferred to invest in or partner with blockchain companies rather than pursue full acquisitions.
Banks’ approach to blockchain has grown from the hesitant post-crypto-winter period. Investment activity declined in 2022 and 2023 following the FTX collapse and subsequent market turmoil. Data indicate that dealmaking rebounded in 2024, with deal value increasing despite a decrease in overall transactions.
The report points to increasing regulatory clarity in major markets such as the United States, the European Union, the UAE, and Singapore.
The report suggests that the next chapter for banks will involve scaling blockchain solutions beyond institutional pilots. The Boston Consulting Group estimates that tokenized real-world assets could be worth over $18 trillion by 2033.
Even as Tier-1 institutions are making huge strides, smaller regional banks are slowly making their mark as well, entering the space through partnerships with fintechs and participation in utility platforms. According to a 2022 U.S. survey cited in the report, 11% of community banks said they planned to launch crypto-asset services.