The bank joins growing Wall Street competition in digital assets.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is preparing to launch a cryptocurrency trading service for its institutional clients. Plans focus on spot and derivatives products, according to people familiar with the matter. This step responds to increased client demand and a more permissive regulatory climate in the United States during 2025.
The work remains in early stages, the plans are not public, and no trading is live yet. The initiative gained momentum after Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, who appointed industry-friendly regulators and passed new rules for stablecoins.
Earlier this month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency stated that U.S. banks may act as intermediaries in crypto markets. This formal pronouncement removed a key barrier for major institutions.
The bank has built blockchain infrastructure for years while avoiding direct crypto trading. However, that line is now blurring. Recently, the firm arranged the creation, distribution, and settlement of a short-term bond for Galaxy Digital Holdings LP on the Solana blockchain. It also explores using digital tokens as loan collateral.
Dimon previously compared Bitcoin to a “pet rock.” At the bank’s investor conference in May, he took a more direct position on client choice. “I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke,” Dimon stated. “I defend your right to buy Bitcoin. Go at it.” The comment reflected a policy of access, not endorsement.
Competition on Wall Street is accelerating its own pace. Goldman Sachs has operated a crypto derivatives desk for four years. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, oversees $68 billion in its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), launched in 2024.
In Europe, Standard Chartered began spot trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum for institutions from its UK branch this year. The Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo SpA made its first Bitcoin purchase, worth around one million euros, through its proprietary digital assets trading desk.
JPMorgan’s project will ultimately depend on the concrete interest of its institutional clients. If demand exists with sufficient size and liquidity, the trading desk could scale. Otherwise, the plans may remain on paper.
The bank is probing a market it no longer considers marginal, but whose large-scale adoption is still defining itself. JPMorgan’s formal entry would mark a point of consolidation for the crypto industry within traditional banking.
