What do stablecoins, blockchain and digital payments mean for the nation’s banks? Will they be left behind, or lead this new frontier? Umar Farooq, the Co-Head of Global Payments at J.P. Morgan and head of its blockchain and digital payment activities, will discuss the bank’s vision.
JP Morgan has been a leader among banks in the application of blockchain technology. It launched JPM Coin in 2019 to facilitate on chain, peer-to-peer transfers and launched JPMD in 2025, a deposit token for institutional clients available on public blockchain networks. In 2025 it launched a tokenized money market fund and completed the first tokenized commercial paper transaction with Galaxy. It is also the largest processor of US dollar payments, with a daily transaction volume of $10 trillion. It operates in over 160 countries and handles more than 120 currencies.
Mr. Farooq has a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.S. in Economics, and an M.Eng. in Computer Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Mr. Farooq will join Timothy Massad, Director of the M-RCBG Digital Assets Policy Project, and Harvard Law School Prof. Howell Jackson, for a conversation on February 11, 2026 at 12:30 at HKS Wexner 434. Lunch will be served.
