The Clearing House, a payments operator owned by US banks, has selected blockchain technology firm Quant to supply the software for a planned network for tokenized bank deposits, according to an announcement published on September 24.

The network forms part of The Clearing House's On-Chain Money Initiative, first announced in June with the backing of participating banks. It is designed to let banks of every size clear and settle transactions in tokenized deposits — digital versions of bank deposits that, unlike stablecoins, remain a claim on the bank that issued them and carry the protections of a conventional deposit. In practice, value can move on-chain while the underlying funds stay within the regulated banking system as deposits.

What Quant Will Provide

Quant will run the network's interoperability, orchestration and transaction management layer, the component that coordinates the clearing and settlement of tokenized deposits. Its technology will also connect the network to RTP, The Clearing House's real-time payments system, and CHIPS, its clearing system for high-value dollar transactions, allowing bank money to move between blockchain-based and traditional rails.

According to The Clearing House, the network is intended to support instant settlement as well as payments that trigger automatically once agreed conditions are met. The operator's existing networks clear and settle more than $2 trillion each day.

Quant additionally plans to offer Tokenized Deposits-as-a-Service, a managed offering for US institutions connected to The Clearing House that do not have tokenized deposit tools of their own. The service would let such institutions adopt tokenized deposits without developing in-house systems.

“Building interbank infrastructure for tokenized deposits requires proven technology that can scale,” said Sal Karakaplan, Chief Strategy Officer of The Clearing House.

Quant founder and CEO Gilbert Verdian described the agreement as “a defining step in the global transition to programmable money.”

The network is expected to open to participating institutions in the first half of 2027. No banks have been named as users of Quant's managed service, and no transaction volumes or revenue figures have been disclosed, leaving the eventual roster of participants and adoption levels among the open details ahead of the launch.

Open Questions Over the QNT Token

Neither announcement requires banks to buy, hold, or pay fees in QNT, Quant's utility token, and neither states that QNT will be used as a settlement asset or burned.

Quant's terms describe QNT as a token customers may use for its products and services. Its FAQ, however, says platform fees can be paid in US dollars, while subscriptions can be made in QNT. Fees may be paid monthly or annually in advance, and card payments and invoices are permitted where Quant agrees — leaving room for banks to pay without using the token.

A 2022 description of Overledger, Quant's technology for linking different ledgers, said transactions on that platform are powered by QNT. The 2026 announcements do not say whether that model applies to the new bank network, leaving QNT's role in the infrastructure undefined in either document.

Banks publicly backed the initiative in June, before Quant was selected. That support is not a disclosed commitment to buy QNT or to use Quant's service.

Sharp Swings for QNT

QNT's price has swung sharply since the announcement. The token hit an intraday high of $373 on September 27, then fell to a low of $195.35 on September 28 before rebounding. QNT was last trading at $256.27, up 12.62% over 24 hours, roughly 281% over the past seven days, and about 317% over the past 30 days.