Blockchain’s real impact on banking in 2025 is in back-office settlement, cross-border payments, and tokenized assets—not replacing fiat or eliminating intermediaries entirely.
JPMorgan’s Onyx network processes billions daily in tokenized deposits, reducing settlement from T+2 to minutes. Ripple/XRP, Stellar, and SWIFT’s own blockchain trials have slashed correspondent banking costs 40–80%.
Tokenized money-market funds (BlackRock’s BUIDL, Franklin Templeton’s OnChain funds) on public blockchains now exceed $5 billion AUM, offering instant settlement and composability.
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are live in over 20 countries, with digital euro and digital dollar pilots advancing. These are permissioned blockchains providing programmable money and negative interest rate transmission.
Retail banking remains largely untouched. High street banks use blockchain for efficiency, not disruption. The narrative of “banking the unbanked” via crypto has largely failed—mobile money (M-Pesa) and fintech apps won that battle.
Stablecoins (USDT, USDC) process more daily volume than PayPal but remain regulatory wildcards. Circle’s IPO and PayPal’s PYUSD legitimized the sector, but custody and redemption risk persist.
The winner-take-most outcome favors institutions that embrace blockchain rails while maintaining trust and regulatory compliance—exactly the opposite of early crypto ideology.