JPMorgan Crypto Trading Launches for Institutional Clients: Report

Banking giant JPMorgan Chase is considering offering cryptocurrency trading to its institutional clients, marking a major expansion for a traditional financial institution to expand its digital asset services.

JPMorgan Chase is evaluating products and services in its market division as part of an expansion into cryptocurrencies, according to a Monday Bloomberg report, citing a person familiar with the plans. The company's plans were not public at the time of publication, but may include a digital asset position and initial marketing.

Crypto trading services are in the early stages of development due to demand from the company's clients amid a changing regulatory environment in the United States. The administration under US President Donald Trump has been rolling out policies to support the crypto industry since January, including signing into law the stablecoin bill, the Genius Act.

Although the reported move strengthens ties to the digital asset industry, JPMorgan has faced criticism from Stroke CEO Jack Mallers, who said in November that the company had closed the account without explanation. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview in December that the company does not charge clients based on religious or political affiliations.

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If approved, the institutional client provision would represent a significant about-face in the 2023 hearing on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), which are only “for criminals, drug traffickers, money laundering, tax evasion.” He said in an interview in July that he was a “believer in stablecoins” and saw the benefits of blockchain technology.

US Bank isn't the only game in town on crypto offerings.

French bank BPCE is preparing to launch crypto trading for its retail clients. The move makes the financial institution one of the few banks in the EU to offer digital asset services.

BNY Mellon, another international banking giant, said in November that it had launched a money market fund to hold stocks of US stablecoin issuers. The move was in response to the regulations set forth under the GENIUS Act, which requires stablecoin issuers to have reserves.

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