JPMorgan Chase could start lending against its clients' cryptocurrency holdings, according to the Financial Times.
The US banking giant is exploring the possibility of letting clients use the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for loans from next year, says the FT, citing sources.
The proposal represents another example of CEO Jamie Dimon's softening stance on the crypto sector, which he once said he would shut down.
In 2023, Dimon told a Senate Banking Committee: “I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etc. The only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers...money laundering, tax avoidance.”
However, by this May he had modified his position, promising to let clients buy Bitcoin, telling investors: “I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy bitcoin.”
The bank has also begun making stablecoin moves, unveiling plans for a deposit token, called JPMD that would serve as a digital representation of a commercial bank deposit.