JPMorgan looks to patent a system to distribute virtual depository receipts

JPMorgan Chase, a massive American banking institution which has been known to dabble in patenting ideas which rely on blockchain technology, has had its sights set on patenting another concept.

Regarding the first patent, the project was lead by excitement by the team, and the blockchain program leader Christine Moy said that “[one] of the mandates of the J.P. Morgan blockchain program is to identify how blockchain technology can create value, efficiency, and a better experience for our clients across the financial markets value chain” and continued to express the excitement of moving into blockchain, saying that they “look forward to exploring blockchain-enabled capital markets applications, how these types of transformative opportunities can benefit our clients and counterparts.”

This time the mega-bank is looking into using blockchain technology for practical cases such as tokenizing assets and trading them on digital store receipts. Outlined in the submitted patent application which has been published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is the potential method for these cases.

As in the patent application:

“Virtual Receipts,” are asset or obligation-backed electronic tokens that may provide investors, brokers, custodians, and clearing firms with a means to link an underlying asset or obligation with its digital representation on a distributed system for the purposes of ownership tracking and transfer; transaction clearing and settlement; asset origination, distribution and securitization; and other such marketplace processes that may be facilitated on a distributed system. As used herein, a distributed system includes a distributed ledger, such as a Blockchain or Ethereum-based ledger.”

In order to achieve this, JPMorgan would be creating a security token as it which would require an asset owner to limit the holdings by charging them to a custodian who would issue a digital receipt. Owing to this process, the virtual depository receipts would be categorized as security tokens – and would, therefore, be strictly regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).