--- title: "Keeta, LayerZero Partner to Tokenize Bank Deposits On-Chain" date: 2026-07-23 author: "Kathleen Kinder" featured_image: "https://coinlaw.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/keeta-layerzero-partner-to-tokenize-bank-deposits.jpg" categories: - name: "Fintech" url: "/fintech.md" tags: - name: "News" url: "/tag/news.md" --- # Keeta, LayerZero Partner to Tokenize Bank Deposits On-Chain Keeta and LayerZero announced a partnership to make tokenized commercial bank money natively transferable across the Keeta Network, Ethereum, Solana, and Base on July 23, 2026. The deal, according to Keeta and LayerZero, opens a regulated settlement layer to institutions on public blockchains. ## Key Takeaways - Keeta and LayerZero launched Keeta Stablecoins, tokenized commercial bank deposits available on Ethereum, Solana, Base and the Keeta Network, according to LayerZero. - Keeta Stablecoins run on LayerZero’s OFT Standard: the standard lets the issuing bank keep full control of the token contract at every step, per LayerZero. - Bivo, a U.S.-licensed financial technology platform, holds the commercial bank deposits backing the tokens through a partner-bank network. - Keeta Stablecoins expand this month to the U.S. dollar plus eight other major currencies, including the euro, yen, and yuan, per Keeta. - A group of major U.S. banks is building its own tokenized-deposit network, but that system stays closed to banks only. ## What Happened? The centerpiece of the deal is Keeta Stablecoins, a new category of tokenized commercial bank money built for institutions that already move volume through [Crypto exchanges](https://coinlaw.io/crypto-exchange-statistics/) and onchain settlement rails. The tokens move on the chain an institution already uses and settle in seconds. **The future of institutional money isn’t a walled garden**, said **Ty Schenk**, Founder and CEO of Keeta, framing the launch as a break from closed bank networks. **Bivo**, a U.S.-licensed financial technology platform with access to U.S. payment rails and a partner bank network, holds the commercial bank deposits backing the tokens. That structure sets the tokens apart from typical stablecoin design: unlike traditional stablecoins, which are typically pegged to a single currency and rely on a mix of reserves, **Keeta Stablecoins** represent actual commercial bank money. > (1/8) Keeta has partnered with [@LayerZero\_Core](https://x.com/LayerZero_Core?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) to bring tokenized commercial bank money to major blockchains. > > Together, we’re the first to combine regulated, compliance-native infrastructure with omnichain interoperability, enabling financial institutions to move bank-grade… [pic.twitter.com/QKPJff0b7N](https://t.co/QKPJff0b7N) > > — Keeta (@KeetaNetwork) [July 23, 2026](https://x.com/KeetaNetwork/status/2080276758008668240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ## How the OFT Standard Keeps Banks in Control? Keeta Stablecoins run on **LayerZero’s OFT Standard**, a universal token standard that extends dollar liquidity across supported blockchains while letting the issuing institution retain full contract authority at every step. Under that standard, a project deploying a token keeps complete ownership of its contracts, chooses which chains to deploy on, and sets how transfers get verified through a **Security Stack**. The standard has run in production for **21 months** and has secured over **$4.5 billion** in transfer volume across more than **45 chains**, and over **100 projects** have adopted it, from stablecoins to gas tokens. That ownership structure matters for a bank issued asset. Because the OFT Standard never hands custody or verification control to LayerZero, a bank keeps the same compliance levers over a tokenized deposit that it holds over its own ledger entry. ## Why an Open Rail, Not a Bank Consortium? A **consortium of major U.S. banks** recently disclosed plans to build a shared tokenized deposit network as a closed, banks only system. The **Keeta-LayerZero partnership** offers an alternative: the same institutional grade instruments available today, but on open public chains. **Simon Baksy**s, Chief Business Officer at LayerZero, made the same split explicit: traditional stablecoins already prove the demand to move dollars on-chain, and the next unlock is instruments that institutions can settle across chains and currencies. LayerZero already connects more than 170 public blockchains, and Keeta holds a place in the [Visa](https://coinlaw.io/visa-statistics/) Direct payments network while operating what the companies call the most scalable Layer 1 blockchain ever built. Pairing a Visa Direct connection with an open, multi-chain rail is the real pitch here: a bank need not trade payments network settlement finality for [public blockchain](https://coinlaw.io/blockchain-statistics/) reach. ## Implications for Institutional Crypto Keeta was founded in **2022** and is backed by **Eric Schmidt**, the former CEO of Google, and built its network to meet the regulatory and operational requirements of financial institutions. A Google Cloud stress test independently found Keeta Network capable of over **11 million transactions per second**, running on Google’s Spanner database, third-party confirmation of the throughput claim underpinning this partnership. Real bank deposits, open-chain distribution, and independently verified throughput read less like a [stablecoin](https://coinlaw.io/stablecoin-statistics/) launch and more like a bid to route around correspondent banking. If banks choose the open rail, [Decentralized finance markets](https://coinlaw.io/decentralized-finance-market-statistics/) gain a bank-grade dollar leg alongside reserve backed stablecoins, not in place of them. ## CoinLaw’s Takeaway This launch turns a legal question, whether a bank deposit can leave the bank’s own ledger and still function as a bank deposit, into an infrastructure answer. The OFT Standard’s design means Keeta and any bank issuing through it keep the same contract authority over a token on Ethereum or Solana that they hold over an entry in their own core banking system. That is the detail separating Keeta Stablecoins from a reserve backed stablecoin a bank cannot recall or freeze in the same way. Institutions already routing dollars through card-network-grade rails now get another option: distribute bank money over public chains without handing custody to a bridge or joining a closed bank consortium. The real test is adoption, not architecture. An open rail only matters if banks route real deposits through it instead of the consortium’s closed network, and neither company has named a bank customer yet. Until a bank signs on, this is a credible technical answer to a structural argument the industry has been having since the earliest bank-consortium tokenization pilots, not proof that banks will choose openness over control. Definition of Layer 1. Link to full glossary entry follows the description.**Layer 1**A Layer 1 is the base blockchain layer that settles its own transactions, enforces its own consensus, and secures its own ledger. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana. [Read more](https://coinlaw.io/glossary/layer-1/) Definition of Cross-Chain. Link to full glossary entry follows the description.**Cross-Chain**Cross-chain is the ability to move data or assets between separate blockchains via bridges, messaging protocols, or interoperability networks. [Read more](https://coinlaw.io/glossary/cross-chain/) Definition of Gas Fee. Link to full glossary entry follows the description.**Gas Fee**A gas fee is the transaction cost paid to Ethereum validators for the computational effort needed to process and confirm blockchain operations. [Read more](https://coinlaw.io/glossary/gas-fee/)