JP Morgan Explores Lending Against Crypto Holdings
US banking giant JP Morgan Chase is exploring the possibility of lending against clients’ cryptocurrency holdings, marking a significant strategic shift for the nation’s largest bank as digital assets gain mainstream acceptance.
The bank could begin offering loans backed by crypto assets including Bitcoin and Ethereum as early as next year, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter who cautioned that plans remain subject to change. JP Morgan declined to comment on the initiative.
The potential move represents a dramatic evolution for CEO Jamie Dimon, who famously dismissed bitcoin as a “fraud” in 2017, predicting it would “eventually blow up” and claiming it was only useful for “drug dealers and…
