JPMorgan Appoints Kara Kennedy as Kinexys Co-Head to Drive Blockchain Innovation

JPMorgan Chase has named Kara Kennedy as the new Global Co-Head of its blockchain division, Kinexys, alongside Naveen Mallela, signaling a bold push into tokenized finance and digital payments. Announced on August 6, 2025, Kennedy, based in Edinburgh, brings extensive experience from leading digital asset product strategy for JPMorgan’s securities services. She will oversee Kinexys Digital Assets for asset tokenization and Kinexys Labs for prototyping blockchain solutions, while Mallela, in Singapore, manages Kinexys Digital Payments and Kinexys Liink.

Kinexys, rebranded from Onyx in November 2024, has processed over $1.5 trillion in transactions, averaging $2 billion daily, with 10x year-over-year payment growth. The division’s innovations include JPMD, a tokenized deposit token tested with Coinbase in June 2025, and GBP-denominated blockchain accounts launched in London, serving clients like LSEG’s SwapAgent and Trafigura. Kennedy’s appointment aligns with JPMorgan’s plans to integrate on-chain FX settlements by Q1 2026, starting with USD and EUR.

Kennedy’s leadership will drive Kinexys’s expansion in the Middle East and North Africa, where eight major banks, including Qatar National Bank, adopted Kinexys in 2025. Her role also emphasizes carbon credit tokenization, with pilots alongside S&P Global and EcoRegistry. Analysts see this as JPMorgan’s response to growing competition from fintechs and banks like Goldman Sachs, positioning Kinexys as a leader in 24/7 cross-border payments and tokenized assets.

With regulatory clarity increasing, Kennedy’s expertise will accelerate JPMorgan’s blockchain vision, blending institutional trust with decentralized innovation, potentially reshaping global finance by 2026.