Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. is considering offering cryptocurrency trading to its institutional clients, as large banks around the world deepen their involvement in the asset class.
The Wall Street giant is assessing what products and services its markets division could offer to expand its footprint in cryptocurrencies, according to a person familiar with the plans. This could include spot and derivatives trading, said the person who asked not to be identified as the plans are not public.
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The efforts, which are in their early stages, are in response to rising interest from clients following changes in the US regulatory environment around digital assets, the person added. Concrete plans will depend on whether there is sufficient demand for any specific product, as well as an assessment of the risks and opportunities and what is feasible from a regulatory standpoint, the person said.
A spokesperson for JPMorgan declined to comment.
While JPMorgan has been very active in blockchain, a crypto trading move would be the latest sign of how banks have started warming up to digital assets following the return of Donald Trump to the White House. His administration has appointed crypto-friendly regulators and pushed through new stablecoin legislation. Earlier this month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued guidance saying that US banks may step into the role of intermediaries of crypto.
Such regulatory shifts have begun to ease long-standing constraints, opening a path for banks to act as intermediaries. For JPMorgan, whose boss Jamie Dimon had earlier dismissed Bitcoin as “pet rock,” the move highlights how Wall Street is starting to consider it less as a fringe investment. Dimon’s latest stance has been more pragmatic. “I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke,” he said at JPMorgan’s investor conference in May. “I defend your right to buy Bitcoin. Go at it.”
The bank recently arranged the creation, distribution and settlement of a short-term bond for Galaxy Digital Holdings LP on the Solana blockchain. It also plans to allow institutional clients to use their holdings of Bitcoin and Ether as collateral for loans.
Earlier this year, Standard Chartered launched a trading service for institutional clients in spot Bitcoin and Ether through its UK branch, while Italy’s largest banking group Intesa Sanpaolo SpA made its first Bitcoin purchase, buying roughly 1 million euros ($1.2 million) worth of the original cryptocurrency through its proprietary digital assets trading desk.
