JPMorgan Praises Bitcoin Then Pushes JPM Coin, Sets Up Dedicated Crypto Unit

After JPMorgan analysts praised bitcoin, saying that the price of the cryptocurrency could triple, JPMorgan reveals that it has set up a dedicated crypto unit and its own cryptocurrency is now being used commercially by a large tech company for the first time.

JPMorgan’s Crypto Now Used Commercially

Global investment bank and financial services company JPMorgan Chase has set up a dedicated crypto business unit called Onyx with more than 100 staffers, CNBC reported Tuesday.

JPMorgan’s announcement came after a team of analysts at the firm’s Global Markets Strategy group touted bitcoin as an alternative investment to gold among millennials, suggesting that bitcoin’s price may be “doubling or tripling” if current trends continue. Their comments followed an announcement by Paypal that the company will support cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.

Takis Georgakopoulos, JPMorgan’s global head of wholesale payments, explained that JPMorgan’s own cryptocurrency, the JPM Coin, is being used commercially for the first time this week by a large, unnamed technology client to send payments around the world. He added that other clients are being on-boarded.

Georgakopoulos further detailed that the bank is focused on improving wholesale payments, specifically in areas where a better solution could save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars. CNBC noted that as one of the largest players in this industry, JPMorgan moves more than $6 trillion a day across more than 100 countries.

According to JPMorgan’s website, “The JPM Coin is based on blockchain-based technology enabling the instantaneous transfer of payments between institutional clients” and “A JPM Coin always has a value equivalent to one U.S. dollar.” In addition, “The JPM Coin will be issued on Quorum Blockchain and subsequently extended to other platforms.”