Quick Facts:
- The news is that JPMorgan Chase is looking into offering institutional clients the chance to trade cryptocurrencies in both spot and derivatives markets.
- An internal report from Bloomberg on December 22, 2025.
- The Driver: More clients want it, and the new U.S. administration has made the rules more “crypto-friendly.”
- This is a huge change from CEO Jamie Dimon’s past doubts (he was known for calling Bitcoin a “pet rock”).
- The bank recently started a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum and paid off a debt on Solana.
The wall of resistance at the biggest bank in the US is falling apart. Bloomberg has a new report that says JPMorgan Chase & Co. is thinking about letting its institutional clients trade cryptocurrencies directly.
This isn’t just another “blockchain test.” If approved, JPMorgan’s markets division would let hedge funds, asset managers, and sovereign wealth funds trade spot Bitcoin and Ethereum and maybe even derivatives directly through the bank’s secure infrastructure.
The timing of this exploration is no accident. The regulatory landscape in the U.S. has shifted dramatically in late 2025.
- Regulatory Clarity: With the new administration appointing crypto-friendly regulators and the repeal of restrictive accounting rules (like SAB 121), the “regulatory risk” that previously terrified compliance departments has subsided.
- FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Competitors like Standard Chartered and Goldman Sachs have already made aggressive moves. Standard Chartered launched a spot trading desk earlier this year, and Morgan Stanley has opened up ETF access. JPMorgan risks losing its most sophisticated clients to rival banks if it stays on the sidelines.
Testing the Waters with “Kinexys” and Solana
While the trading desk is still in the “exploration” phase, JPMorgan is already deeply embedded in the technology. The bank has been quietly building out its on-chain capabilities:
- Tokenized Money Market Fund: Just last week, JPMorgan’s asset management arm launched a $100 million tokenized money market fund on the Ethereum blockchain via its Kinexys (formerly Onyx) platform.
- Solana Debt Issuance: In a surprising move earlier this month, the bank facilitated a commercial paper issuance for Galaxy Digital on the Solana blockchain, proving they are agnostic about which chain they use as long as it’s fast and cheap.
The Jamie Dimon Paradox
The most ironic thing about this news is what its CEO, Jamie Dimon, has to say about it. Dimon has been one of crypto’s most vocal critics for years. He even said he would fire any trader who touched Bitcoin.
But in 2025, his tone has changed. He still says he “doesn’t smoke” (he doesn’t buy crypto himself), but now he “defends the right” of his clients to do so. This practical change shows that the bank’s duty to make money for its shareholders has finally won out over the CEO’s personal doubts.
