Key takeaways
- JPMorgan set to accept Bitcoin and Ether as collateral for institutional loans and financial operations.
- The integration highlights the growing adoption of crypto by traditional banking institutions.
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JPMorgan Chase is preparing to allow institutional clients to use Bitcoin and Ether as loan collateral, Bloomberg reported Friday. The program, scheduled to launch by the end of the year, will use a third-party custodian for asset security and will be available to customers around the world.
According to a previous Bloomberg report, the largest U.S. bank by total assets will soon allow trading and wealth management clients to use crypto ETFs as loan collateral, starting with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.
The move is part of a strategy to enable borrowing on crypto-related assets and factor crypto holdings into wealth management clients’ net worth assessments.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in May that the bank would let customers buy Bitcoin but would not provide custody services. Despite his long-standing skepticism, often citing Bitcoin’s lack of intrinsic value and its association with illicit activity, the decision marks a shift from his stance in 2017, when he called Bitcoin a “fraud” and threatened to fire employees who traded it.
