Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, questioned why banks should be afraid of blockchain or need protection from the technology. He argued that blockchain offers a faster, cheaper and easier-to-verify way to transfer value, while remaining an open technology that banks can also use.
His comments point to a growing debate over whether blockchain will compete with traditional banks or become another tool for them. Rather than being restricted to crypto companies, blockchain networks can be used for payments, settlement and tokenized assets, potentially allowing banks to move some financial activity onto infrastructure that operates around the clock.
Why do some people think banks need to be scared of blockchain? or banks need protection?
Blockchain is faster, cheaper, and more easy to verify way of transferring value.
Blockchain is an open technology anyone can use, including banks. 🤷♂️
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) September 18, 2026
Banks are already putting blockchain into real banking
JPMorgan is one of the clearest examples of a major bank moving blockchain beyond experiments. Its Kinexys blockchain business has processed more than $4 trillion in cumulative transactions and about $7 billion a day as of 2026. The bank is also using its JPMD deposit token to let institutional clients move dollar deposits on Base, a public blockchain, with near-instant settlement. That puts blockchain into a part of banking customers actually use to move and settle money.
Other banks are taking similar steps. South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank began using JPMorgan’s Blockchain Deposit Account network for import and export payments in September 2026, while HSBC has launched tokenized deposits in Hong Kong that allow corporate clients to make HKD and USD payments around the clock. HSBC has also completed a cross-bank transaction using tokenized deposits through Hong Kong’s Project Ensemble.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in 2025 that the bank was already using blockchain for areas such as repo transactions and data sharing, and expected to use it in correspondent banking where it made sense. These examples show that banks are not only watching blockchain from the sidelines. They are using it where it can reduce settlement time and the number of steps involved in moving money.
Also Read: HSBC Launches TradeCash in UAE as Digital Financing Demand Grows
Governments are building around the same idea
Central banks and governments are also testing whether tokenized money can improve the plumbing of the financial system. The Bank for International Settlements’ Project Agorá brings together seven central banks and 43 private-sector institutions to test tokenized commercial-bank deposits and central-bank money for cross-border payments. Hong Kong’s monetary authority is running Project Ensemble to test tokenized deposits and wholesale central-bank money, while its EnsembleTX pilot moved into real-value transactions in 2025.
The US has also started addressing how tokenized assets fit into the banking system. In 2026, the OCC, Federal Reserve and FDIC said banks can use either permissioned or permissionless blockchains for eligible tokenized securities without the choice of blockchain itself changing their treatment under bank capital rules. That matters because it moves the discussion away from whether blockchain belongs in banking and toward how banks should use it.
There is still a reason banks may be cautious, particularly with stablecoins. Bank deposits are a major source of funding for loans, so a large move from bank deposits into stablecoins could affect how banks fund their balance sheets. US banking groups have raised this concern in discussions around stablecoin rules.
Why banks may see blockchain as a threat
The reaction to CZ’s comments shows why the relationship between banks and blockchain remains complicated. OG argued that banking rules may be part of the reason, saying exchanges can operate more freely and create competition that banks are not allowed to match under existing rules.
Most likely stems from the Banking rules . Exchanges can move more freely and create competition the banks can’t compete with . Now if they changed the Banking laws /rules it would probably change that.
— OG-CryptoGH0$T (@AI83055785) September 18, 2026
Biteye focused on the role of intermediaries, arguing that blockchain reduces the power of intermediaries. Picky took another view, saying banks essentially act as brokers by taking deposits and lending that money to investors.
The comments point to the part of blockchain that involves removing some of the steps between the person sending money and the person receiving it. But banks do more than move money. They take deposits, issue loans and manage credit risk, which means blockchain could change how banks operate without removing the need for banks altogether.
In another development, CZ said Hong Kong has strong potential to become an important Web3 hub because of its fintech talent, links to mainland China and access to institutional capital. Speaking at a Binance Life book meetup in Hong Kong, the Binance co-founder also pointed to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the United States as markets he views positively as governments become more supportive of the crypto industry.
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