5 Big Banks Earned $49 Billion In One Quarter By Owning What Crypto Wants To Replace

What Happened

Investment banking fees at the bank rose 30% to $3.3 billion, the strongest showing since 2021. These are the fees banks collect for helping companies raise money and complete mergers. Meanwhile, a long-held Visa stake added a $4.6 billion gain to the quarter.

Underwriting boomed too. Goldman’s fees from helping companies sell new shares surged 130%, while fees from arranging new debt rose 75%. Total investment banking fees jumped 55% to $3.40 billion.

The strength answered the question BeInCrypto raised in its big bank earnings preview a day earlier. Investors wanted proof the economy could hold up, and the banks supplied it.

For crypto investors, the first signal is liquidity, meaning the ease with which money moves through markets. Record trading revenue indicates deep markets and healthy risk appetite, conditions that have historically supported Bitcoin (BTC) and other risk assets.

Crypto has captured a growing share of such rallies since US spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024.

Market Context

The wins came from trading and dealmaking rather than ordinary lending. That detail matters because it rewards the firms that own financial infrastructure, or the rails that money travels on.

Big Bank Earnings Set Records as Trading Desks Deliver

JPMorgan reported profit of $21.2 billion, or $7.70 per share, up 41% from a year earlier. Its stock trading revenue surged 86% to $6.03 billion, lifting total trading revenue to a record $12.1 billion.

Think of financial rails as the toll roads of money. Trading platforms, underwriting desks, payment networks, and custody services all charge a small fee every time value moves. This quarter, those toll collectors captured nearly all the upside.

IBM offered the mirror image on the same day. The company said preliminary Q2 revenue of roughly $17.2 billion missed estimates, and IBM stock sank 22% before the open. Corporate budgets moved to chips, power, and data capacity, the technology version of rails, and away from older software deals.

Firms that own the pipes collect fees whenever activity rises, whichever way markets move.

Why It Matters

Big bank earnings smashed records on July 14 as the five major US lenders earned a combined $49 billion in profit, led by JPMorgan Chase’s $21.2 billion and the best quarter in Goldman Sachs’ history.

Goldman Sachs earned $20.98 per diluted share on $20.34 billion in net revenues, according to its filing. Net profit reached $6.63 billion, and both revenue and per-share earnings set firm records alongside a 23.5% return on equity.

Details

“Our record performance this quarter reflects the strength of our global franchise, the depth of our relationships, and our ability to harness the power of One Goldman Sachs,” Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon said in the firm’s release.

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The rest of the group beat as well. Bank of America grew profit 27% to $9.1 billion, per its release. Wells Fargo earned $6.4 billion, its report showed, and Citigroup posted $5.8 billion, up from $4.0 billion a year earlier, per its results.

Owning the Rails Beat Selling the Products

Ordinary lending, where banks profit from the gap between loan interest and deposit costs, held steady but added little growth. The difference matters because toll revenue rises with activity, while lending profit depends on interest rates.

JPMorgan’s $4.6 billion Visa gain makes the point in miniature. Visa began in 1958 as a Bank of America card program and became a standalone network through a 2008 IPO. Banks that owned those payment rails have collected returns for decades since.

The lesson from both stories is simple:

Firms that sell products, in contrast, must win every contract again and again.

Why Record Bank Profits Matter for Crypto

The rails idea also maps directly onto blockchain finance. Stablecoins, digital tokens designed to hold a steady dollar value, aim to become payment rails that work around the clock. Their issuers earn income from reserves while the tokens move value cheaply.

Washington cleared the road last year. The GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, gave payment stablecoins their first federal rulebook. Regulators have since granted conditional trust charters to issuers such as Circle and Paxos, per Brookings.