Bank of Montreal (BMO) is partnering with derivatives marketplace CME Group and Google Cloud to introduce a tokenized cash and deposit platform, making it the first bank to offer CME Group’s tokenized cash solution on the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL). The three companies announced the collaboration in a joint press release on Tuesday. The platform is designed to give institutional clients continuous access to cash settlement outside the limits of traditional banking hours.
Under the arrangement, BMO’s institutional clients will be able to convert U.S. dollars into tokenized instruments at any time of day, enabling real-time margin calls, collateral movements, and settlements. Traditional banking constraints on operating hours have historically limited the speed of such transactions. The new infrastructure aims to remove those barriers entirely. “Clients will be able to move funds continuously when markets demand it, not when banking hours allow it,” said Derek Vernon, BMO’s head of North American treasury and payment solutions.
BMO intends to make the settlement instrument available to regulated financial services firms in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Beyond clearing, the bank also plans to extend tokenized deposit capabilities to support general-purpose business-to-business payments, treasury movements, and programmable cash applications for a wider client base. The platform is therefore positioned as a broader financial infrastructure initiative rather than a narrowly focused clearing tool.
The announcement represents a further step in the ongoing partnership between CME Group and Google Cloud, which began in March 2025 when CME completed the first phase of integration and testing for GCUL. The Google Cloud Universal Ledger is a programmable distributed ledger built for wholesale payments and asset tokenization. It uses Python-based smart contracts, distinguishing it from blockchain networks such as Ethereum that typically rely on Solidity.
CME Group’s chief executive, Terry Duffy, had signaled the bank partnership during the exchange’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call in February, confirming that the tokenized cash solution would launch that year through “another depository bank.” CME is also moving its cryptocurrency futures and options to around-the-clock trading in early 2026, making always-on collateral infrastructure increasingly relevant to its operations. The BMO deal aligns directly with that strategic direction.
The collaboration also reflects a wider institutional shift toward tokenized financial instruments. JPMorgan has already introduced tokenized deposits on Coinbase‘s layer-2 blockchain Base through its JPMD deposit token. Separately, Fidelity Investments has announced plans to launch a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin called the Fidelity Digital Dollar. These moves collectively signal growing momentum among major financial institutions to integrate blockchain-based settlement tools into mainstream operations.
For BMO, the initiative represents an effort to position itself at the forefront of institutional digital finance infrastructure. By combining CME Group’s derivatives expertise with Google Cloud’s ledger technology, the bank is seeking to offer clients a seamless, programmable alternative to conventional settlement systems. The platform’s broader rollout timeline and regulatory pathway will be closely watched by others in the financial services sector.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
