JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, a known doubter of crypto, has revealed that the banking giant will venture into stablecoins. The acknowledgment indicates that Wall Street can no longer afford to disregard crypto’s impact.
“We’re going to participate in both our JPMorgan deposit coin and stablecoins to comprehend and excel in it,” stated the JPMorgan Chase CEO during a recent earnings discussion, as reported by CNBC. “While I accept their reality, I’m unsure why one would prefer a stablecoin over a straightforward payment.”
Dimon’s remarks follow the disclosure last month that JPMorgan Chase, the world’s leading bank, has plans to trial a blockchain-based asset reminiscent of a stablecoin, dubbed JPMD. This token is set to launch on Base, a Layer 2 network fostered by Coinbase.
The development of the JPMD token and previous statements by Dimon hinting at JPMorgan Chase’s significant use of blockchain mirror the evolving mindset among traditional financial institutions.
In under two years, Wall Street’s perspective on crypto has shifted remarkably. For instance, BlackRock now boasts a Bitcoin ETF with a substantial AUM, having reached this milestone at a remarkable speed. Vanguard, through its funds, is the most significant stakeholder in Strategy, a tech company seemingly dedicated to Bitcoin accumulation to enhance shareholder value.
JPMD, referred to as a “permissioned” deposit token, will reflect commercial bank holdings. The bank’s pilot program is slated to last several months and will likely cater to its institutional clients.
Naveen Mallela, the global co-head of JPMorgan’s blockchain division, Kinexys, suggested that institutions could employ JPMD for onchain digital asset settlement and cross-border B2B transactions.
With governments and corporations increasingly investing in Bitcoin, Dimon stated in May that JPMorgan would enable clients to purchase BTC, but the bank would not hold the digital asset in custody. Dimon has previously dismissed Bitcoin’s value, even branding it a Ponzi scheme as recently as January.
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