While the market's attention is focused on MicroStrategy's Bitcoin purchases, a far more serious long-term threat to BTC is forming on the horizon. This concerns the massive shift of the world's largest banks toward tokenized financial solutions on private blockchains. In my assessment, it is this trend, not the actions of a single company, that has the potential to fundamentally change the landscape of digital assets.
More than 15 leading global banks are actively implementing infrastructure for tokenized assets and settlements. The JPMorgan Kinexys platform, renamed from Onyx in 2024, has already processed transactions worth over $3 trillion since its launch, with daily transaction volumes exceeding $7 billion. Notably, the bank's CEO Jamie Dimon continues to criticize Bitcoin, but his organization is actively building blockchain solutions.
Private Networks Gain Momentum
The majority of these operations take place in permissioned networks. For example, on the Canton Network, the depository DTCC is tokenizing U.S. Treasury bonds, planning to complete the project by 2026. HSBC has already tested tokenized deposits on the same platform, and Goldman Sachs is settling tokenized bonds.
Institutional players are already forming a noticeable share of fees. According to data from the last 30 days, Canton collected about $60 million in fees, while Ethereum collected only $11 million over the same period. This is a clear demonstration of where liquidity is flowing.
Many more participants are involved in this trend. Over 15 major banks are engaged in the tokenized deposit network from The Clearing House. The cooperation is part of a large-scale initiative to launch institutional settlements in tokens, which is planned to go live by 2027.
Why This Threatens Bitcoin
In its report dated July 9, JPMorgan directly stated: the main threat to Bitcoin is the spread of blockchain, where institutions move to private networks. For financial organizations, aspects such as governance, confidentiality, and legal predictability are critical—this is precisely why they choose permissioned systems.
The Bank for International Settlements has also expressed similar caution, stating that public blockchains face issues with scalability and financial transparency, and supported the use of unified ledgers on regulated platforms.
The market size is already tangible. According to rwa.xyz, about $31 billion in tokenized real-world assets are placed on public blockchains, with roughly two-thirds on Ethereum. JPMorgan believes that as the market grows, the majority of issuance and settlements will move to closed platforms with permissioned access.
At the same time, analysts consider Strategy, the largest public company investor in Bitcoin, only a secondary factor. The company controls about 4% of BTC supply, and its new sales policy adds short-term volatility to the market but does not pose a systemic risk.
There is also an opposing viewpoint: Bitcoin is valuable not for mass use in finance, but due to its scarcity and neutral status. However, some analysts already prefer stablecoins and tokenization over direct investments in BTC.
My professional opinion: The market is currently underestimating this shift. If institutional liquidity ultimately moves to private blockchains, Bitcoin risks losing its status as the primary digital asset for institutional settlements, retaining only the role of digital gold for retail investors. This is not a collapse, but a significant change in market paradigm.