JPMorgan Quietly Explores Crypto Trading as Wall Street Pivots on Digital Assets
December 23, 2025 · by Fintool Agent
JPMorgan Chase-0.37%, the world's largest bank by market capitalization, is exploring cryptocurrency trading services for institutional clients—a stunning reversal from years of skepticism voiced by CEO Jamie Dimon, who once called Bitcoin "a fraud" and compared it to a "pet rock" .
The bank is assessing spot and derivatives trading products within its markets division, though discussions remain in early stages with no formal commitment to launch . The potential move would position JPMorgan alongside Morgan Stanley-0.87%, Goldman Sachs-0.61%, and Charles Schwab in a coordinated Wall Street embrace of digital assets following Trump administration regulatory shifts.
From "Pet Rock" to Trading Desk
The timing is notable. Just weeks ago, JPMorgan-0.37% took concrete steps that signal growing institutional adoption:
- December 15: Launched MONY, a tokenized money market fund on the public Ethereum blockchain—making JPMorgan the largest global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to offer such a product
- October 2025: Began accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for institutional loans
- October 2025: Filed for Bitcoin-backed structured notes tracking Blackrock's-1.20% BTC ETF
- Earlier in 2025: Arranged Galaxy Digital's short-term bond issuance on the Solana blockchain
Scott Lucas, who leads digital assets for JPMorgan's markets division, stated publicly in October that the firm intends to pursue trading for institutions but does not plan to offer custody—signaling a cautious, limited approach if it moves forward .
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe Kinexys Foundation
JPMorgan's blockchain infrastructure runs deeper than recent headlines suggest. The bank's Kinexys Digital Payments platform, launched in 2019, now processes approximately $3 billion daily in blockchain-based transactions—a growing fraction of the firm's $10 trillion daily payment volume .
The platform has moved over $2 trillion cumulatively and serves major corporate clients like Siemens AG, which uses Kinexys for near-instant cross-border FX transactions around the clock .
"We've already had open for business a permissioned private blockchain payments capability that's moved over $2 trillion," Doug Petno, Co-CEO of JPMorgan's Commercial & Investment Bank, said at a September investor conference. "Right now, we're doing a proof of concept on cash on chain, public blockchain. It's Ethereum blockchain, JPMorgan deposit token" .
Ask Fintool AI AgentJPMorgan by the Numbers
| Metric | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($B) | $19.4 | $22.0 | $21.7 | $22.5 |
| Net Income ($B) | $14.0* | $14.6 | $15.0 | $14.4 |
| ROE (%) | 16.2%* | 16.8%* | 16.9%* | 16.1%* |
| Total Assets ($T) | $4.0 | $4.4 | $4.6 | $4.6 |
*Values retrieved from S&P Global
The bank's stock closed at $325.93 on December 23, up 0.9% on the day and trading near its 52-week high of $327.78. JPMorgan's market capitalization stands at approximately $887 billion.
Wall Street's Crypto Gold Rush
JPMorgan's exploration comes as competing financial giants accelerate their own digital asset strategies:
| Institution | Crypto Initiative | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | E*Trade crypto trading via Zerohash | H1 2026 |
| Charles Schwab | Bitcoin trading for retail clients | H1 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Crypto derivatives desk, tokenized fund redemptions | Active |
| BlackRock | $100B in Bitcoin ETF AUM | Active |
| Fidelity | Crypto staking, digital asset custody | Active |
| PNC Bank | Bitcoin trading via Coinbase partnership | Active |
According to River data, nearly 60% of the country's 25 largest banks are now somewhere on the path to selling, safekeeping, or advising on Bitcoin directly .
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe Regulatory Tailwind
The shift follows concrete policy changes under the Trump administration. The GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, established a regulatory framework for stablecoins that JPMorgan executives have cited as a catalyst for institutional adoption .
"With the enactment of the GENIUS Act, hopefully it'll bring a range of regulatory certainty and operating frameworks such that maybe some of these products, it'll give oxygen to some of these blockchain-type, stablecoin-type products," Petno said .
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has also issued conditional national trust charters to crypto firms, creating regulated counterparties that can operate within existing bank risk frameworks .
What JPMorgan Won't Do
Despite the expansion into trading exploration, the bank has drawn clear lines. JPMorgan does not plan to offer crypto custody services, preferring to leave that to specialized firms like Coinbase-2.36% Prime, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Galaxy Digital-1.84% .
This "trading without custody" approach mirrors the bank's cautious entry—generating fee revenue from execution while avoiding the regulatory and operational complexity of holding client assets directly.
Ask Fintool AI AgentWhat to Watch
JPMorgan's crypto strategy hinges on several factors:
- Client demand: Executives have emphasized that product launches depend on demonstrated institutional appetite
- Regulatory clarity: Further guidance on bank crypto activities from the OCC and Fed
- Competitive pressure: Morgan Stanley's E*Trade launch in H1 2026 could accelerate JPMorgan's timeline
- Bitcoin price action: The cryptocurrency remains ~30% below its October high of $126,000, though institutional interest appears undeterred
JPMorgan analysts recently projected that Bitcoin could climb to $170,000 within six to twelve months as perpetual futures deleveraging completes —a bullish call that would be hard to reconcile with the "pet rock" rhetoric of years past.
Ask Fintool AI AgentRelated Companies: