JPMorgan Chase Begins Accepting Bitcoin Businesses for Banking

JPMorgan Chase is said to have started providing banking services to bitcoin companies, the first two customers being the Coinbase and Gemini exchanges. JPMorgan also recently recommended having cryptocurrencies in investment portfolios as CEO Jamie Dimon changed his mind on bitcoin.

JPMorgan Chase Bitcoin Customers

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is said to have started accepting clients from the cryptocurrency industry. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that two major bitcoin exchanges, Coinbase Inc. and Gemini Trust Co., have become bank customers of JPMorgan Chase, citing people familiar with the matter.

The two bitcoin exchange accounts were approved in April and the transactions are just beginning, the message added. JPMorgan Chase mainly provides treasury management services on stock exchanges. You manage dollar transactions for your customers in the United States. United States, including processing deposits and withdrawals, via the automated clearing house network and bank transfers.

Many Coinbase and Gemini customers link their bank accounts to their cryptocurrency accounts, so a payment processor is required to handle money transfers to and from these bank accounts. The services offered by JPMorgan do not include the management of bitcoin or cryptocurrency transactions for exchanges.

JPMorgan is preparing for Bitcoin

Large financial institutions are often reluctant to provide banking services to cryptocurrency companies. Coinbase and Gemini had to go through a lengthy search process to get approval from JPMorgan Chase, which probably took into account the fact that they are both regulated bitcoin exchanges in the United States. USA Gemini has a letter of trust from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), while Coinbase is registered as a money services company with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and also has a Bitlicense from DFS. Both are licensed as issuers of money in various U.S. states. USA

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin "a fraud", predicting in September 2017 that the cryptocurrency would eventually explode. "It's worse than tulip bulbs. It won't end well. Someone is going to be killed," said CNN, quoting Dimon. However, less than five months later, he told the media: "I am sorry I made" these comments about bitcoin.

In addition, JPMorgan has released its own digital currency called JPM Coin, which is "a digital currency designed to make instant payments using blockchain technology," says its website. The JPMorgan research team also recently reported in a report that the cryptocurrency should be in a wallet.

What do you think JPMorgan accepts bitcoin companies as customers? Let us know in the comment section.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Business Insider

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