JPMorgan Opens Bitcoin Floodgates—But Won’t Hold the Keys (Dimon Still Skeptical)
Wall Street’s love-hate affair with crypto takes another twist. JPMorgan—the same bank whose CEO once threatened to fire traders for touching Bitcoin—will now let clients dabble in the asset... just don’t ask them to store it for you.
Dimon’s 180? Not quite. The banking titan still calls Bitcoin ’a hyped-up fraud’ between sips of champagne—but hey, if clients want to gamble, JPM will happily take a cut on the spreads.
Bonus jab: Nothing unites old-money banks faster than the scent of fresh fees masquerading as ’innovation.’
JPMorgan Reportedly Plans to Offer Bitcoin ETF Access
A source close to the matter told CNBC that the bank is looking for ways to provide clients access to bitcoin ETFs. JPMorgan has so far limited its crypto exposure to offering futures and not direct Bitcoin ownership.
This comes at a time when there is a major shift in the regulatory landscape under the pro-crypto TRUMP administration. The SEC, led by Gary Gensler, launched several legal battles against a string of crypto firms.
The new wave of institutional adoption led by leading fintechs and banks comes as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) provided new guidance. The agency said that FDIC-supervised institutions can engage in crypto-related activities without receiving prior FDIC approval, provided they manage risks.
Dimon Downplays Blockchain’s Importance
In his speech, JPMorgan CEO Dimon pushed back the HYPE around blockchain tech, calling it less important than it is made to be.
“We have been talking about blockchain for 12 to 15 years,” Dimon told investors. “We spend too much on it. It doesn’t matter as much as you all think.”
In the past, he took a more positive view of blockchain technology, recognizing its practical uses.
JPMorgan has been actively embracing the nascent tech for various projects, including its blockchain-based JPM Coin. Further, Kinexys, JPMorgan’s own blockchain platform, ran the first test transaction recently, settling a tokenized U.S. Treasury transaction on ONDO Chain’s testnet.
