JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Wall Street lenders will be offering Bitcoin (BTC) to their customers in a tough transition from his historic stance to digital assets.
During JPMorgan’s Investor Day, Dimon repeated that he was “not a fan” of Bitcoin, but admitted that his clients would continue to request access.
He said:
“I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy Bitcoin.”
He also made it clear that the banks do not plan to provide custody services.
Dimon maintains skepticism
Dimon’s criticism of Crypto is consistent with past statements. In an interview in January, he called Bitcoin “no worth it.” He linked it to criminal conduct and reiterated the concerns raised in 2023 Senate testimony. Close the industry completely.
He at Davos’ 2024 World Economic Forum Bitcoin is called “Pet Lock” In April of the same year, Dimon The “Ponzi scheme” called Crypto.
In his remarks on May 19, he also said that “blockchain is not as important as people think.” However, JPMorgan continues to build its infrastructure around blockchain technology for institutional use.
Earlier this month, Kinexys completed a test transaction that bridged its private network to a public layer 1 blockchain using tokenized short-term financial assets and real-time payment protocols. ChainLink and Ondo Finance joined the pilot.
Additionally, Kinexys will process more than $2 billion in transactions every day and will expand its dollar and euro settlements using JPMorgan’s own token, JPM Coin.
JPMorgan increases crypto exposure
In his remarks regarding the provision of Bitcoin, jpmorgan’s 13F filing The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the first quarter of 2025 showed a dramatic increase in crypto exposure by Exchange Trading Funds (ETFs).
As of March 31, the company had reported $16.3 million in crypto-related holdings. $1 million at the end of 2024. Crypto-exposures for lenders are primarily made through Bitcoin and Ethereum-related devices.
As of March 31, JPMorgan holds around 3,000 shares, just over 263,000 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Bitwise’s Spot Bitcoin ETF (BITB).
The lenders also held new allocations to Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Mini Trust ETF stakes, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and Bitwise and Franklin Templeton Ethereum products.
The company’s crypto-related holdings are just a small portion of the $4.4 trillion assets under management. At the end of the first quarter.
It is unclear how much of the portfolio reflects unique positioning and promotion towards driving client demand. Banks previously revealed that retaining ETF allocations could become part of market production services.