Banks and crypto firms are converging fast, as yield-bearing stablecoins, ETF filings and tokenized markets test the boundaries of financial regulation. A sharp fault line is forming across the digital asset industry between crypto products that increasingly resemble regulated financial institutions and a traditional banking sector warning that some of those innovations may be going too far. That tension is on full display this week. JPMorgan is cautioning that yield-bearing stablecoins risk recreating core banking functions without the safeguards built up over decades of regulation. At the same time, Wall Street’s engagement with crypto continues to deepen, with Morgan Stanley’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings signaling what analysts describe as the next phase of institutional adoption, one that could force other banks to accelerate their own strategies. Read more
Jeremy Barnum told JPMorgan shareholders that yield-bearing stablecoins risk creating a parallel banking system without the safeguards of traditional regulation. Stablecoins emerged as a topic during JPMorgan Chase’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, with executives expressing support for blockchain technology while warning that certain stablecoin designs could threaten the regulated banking system. The comments came in response to a question from Evercore analyst Glenn Schorr, who asked about stablecoins in light of recent industry lobbying by the American Bankers Association and ongoing congressional markups related to digital asset legislation. Responding to the question, JPMorgan chief financial officer Jeremy Barnum said the bank’s position aligns with the intent of the GENIUS Act, which seeks to establish guardrails around stablecoin issuance. Read more
JPMorgan’s Kinexys unit is taking JPM Coin beyond its existing rails, planning a native launch of the US dollar deposit token on the Canton Network. Digital Asset, the creator of the Canton Network, and Kinexys by JPMorgan plan to bring USD JPM Coin (JPMD) natively to the Canton Network, extending the bank’s deposit token from its existing infrastructure onto a public, institutional-grade blockchain. The bank has already begun deploying JPM Coin on Coinbase’s Base network for institutional clients as part of a pilot, and has indicated it plans to support additional public blockchains over time, making Canton another leg in a multi-chain strategy. According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, JPM Coin by Kinexys Digital Payments is “the first bank‑issued, USD‑denominated deposit token” designed for institutional clients and represents a digital claim on JPMorgan US dollar deposits on distributed ledger infrastructure. Read more
JPMorgan has reportedly frozen accounts linked to Y Combinator–backed stablecoin startups BlindPay and Kontigo after flagging exposure to sanctioned jurisdictions. JPMorgan Chase has reportedly frozen bank accounts linked to two venture-backed stablecoin startups after identifying exposure to sanctioned and high-risk jurisdictions. The accounts belonged to BlindPay and Kontigo, two stablecoin startups backed by Y Combinator that primarily operate across Latin America, according to a report by The Information. Both companies accessed JPMorgan’s banking services through Checkbook, a digital payments firm that partners with large financial institutions. Per the report, the freezes occurred after JPMorgan flagged business activity tied to Venezuela and other locations subject to US sanctions. Read more
The financial services giant has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a leveraged BTC financial product. Members of the Bitcoin community and supporters of Strategy, the largest corporate holder of BTC, are criticizing JPMorgan’s proposed Bitcoin-backed notes, accusing the bank of spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt about Strategy and other crypto treasury firms. JPMorgan’s notes are a leveraged investment product tied to the price of Bitcoin (BTC). The product tracks BTC but amplifies the outcome, giving holders 1.5 times the gains — or the losses — through December 2028. The notes are slated for a December 2025 launch, according to an SEC filing. The move drew sharp criticism from the Bitcoin community, with many saying that JPMorgan is now a direct competitor to BTC treasury companies and has an incentive to marginalize companies like Strategy to promote its own structured financial product. Read more
Strike CEO Jack Mallers said JPMorgan closed his accounts without explanation, reigniting fears of Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and renewed pressure on crypto companies. Banking giant JPMorgan Chase’s decision to cut ties with the CEO of Bitcoin payments company Strike is reigniting concerns about a renewed wave of US “debanking,” an issue that haunted the crypto industry during the 2023 banking turmoil. Jack Mallers, CEO of the Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network payments company Strike, said Sunday on X that JPMorgan closed his personal accounts without explanation. “Last month, J.P. Morgan Chase threw me out of the bank,” Mallers wrote. “Every time I asked them why, they said the same thing: We aren’t allowed to tell you.” Read more
As of 2024, at least one-third of commercial banks were exploring or piloting tokenized deposits, according to a survey by the Bank for International Settlements. Leading financial institutions are continuing to explore blockchain technology to facilitate cheaper and faster institutional payments, signaling a growing interest in tokenization solutions. US investment bank JPMorgan and Singapore multinational banking group DBS announced Tuesday that they are developing a blockchain-based tokenization framework to enable onchain transfers between their deposit token ecosystems. The effort aims to set a new industry standard for cross-bank digital payments. The tokenization framework will allow the two financial institutions to facilitate instant payments around the clock, across both public and permissioned blockchain networks, providing their institutional clients with broader access to cross-bank onchain transactions. Read more
Analysts at financial services giant JPMorgan forecast “significant upside” for Bitcoin over the next months in a report on Wednesday. Bitcoin is trading below its fair value relative to gold when adjusted for volatility, according to analysts at JPMorgan. The rise in gold volatility during its rally to all-time highs in October makes the precious metal riskier and Bitcoin (BTC) “more attractive to investors,” analysts said, based on the bitcoin-to-gold volatility ratio falling to 1.8, meaning BTC carries 1.8 times the risk of gold. The report read: This mechanical exercise thus implies significant upside for Bitcoin over the next 6-12 months,” JPMorgan said. Read more
JPMorgan said that the latest BTC price drawdown meant that Bitcoin was now undervalued compared to gold, in contrast to the end of 2024. Key points: Bitcoin joins US stocks in erasing its latest gains as market nerves heighten over US economic cues. Fed interest rate cut odds slowly increase, but analysis says that risk assets could get a nasty surprise. Read more