JPMorgan Chase is reportedly considering offering loans backed by clients' cryptocurrency holdings, signaling a potential shift in the financial institution's approach to digital assets. According to a report by the Financial Times, the initiative could launch as early as next year and may involve cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This move comes as other major U.S. banks, including Bank of America and Citibank, are developing stablecoin projects amid ongoing regulatory discussions. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who has been critical of Bitcoin in the past, has acknowledged that the bank will be involved in stablecoins. In May, Dimon stated that while he is "not a fan" of Bitcoin, the bank will support its clients' right to participate in the market.
If implemented, the lending program would enable JPMorgan clients to use their crypto holdings as collateral for cash loans, providing liquidity without requiring investors to sell their digital assets. This could be a significant development for institutional clients seeking capital while maintaining exposure to long-term crypto positions.
JPMorgan has already taken preliminary steps into the crypto sector, including plans to offer loans against crypto exchange-traded funds. The bank is also planning to pilot a deposit token, JPMD, on a public blockchain. JPMD will function like a digital representation of a commercial bank deposit and allow for round-the-clock settlement as well as an interest-paying mechanism. In June 2025, JPMorgan confirmed plans to launch JPMD, a stablecoin-like deposit token. JPMorgan has also offered a permissioned blockchain-based bank account, Kinexys Digital Payments (formerly JPM Coin and Onyx), that processes roughly $2 billion in transactions daily.
The potential launch of crypto-backed loans comes amid a broader push by major U.S. banks to enter the digital asset space. Both Bank of America and Citibank are reportedly working on stablecoin initiatives, as pressure builds in Washington to modernize financial infrastructure and clarify crypto regulation.
The U.S. Senate's Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which is the country's push to fully regulate stablecoin issuance, passed a vote on the Senate floor last month. President Trump recently signed the GENIUS Act, a landmark stablecoin bill, into law. The GENIUS bill would establish a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, requiring them to be fully backed by U.S. dollars or other highly liquid assets. It would also mandate annual audits for issuers with a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion and establish rules for issuance by foreign entities.
JPM Coin is a dollar-backed cryptocurrency (stablecoin) from the bank JP Morgan Chase, announced in February 2019 as an institution-to-institution service. JPM Coin is intended to serve as a value token on the Quorum consortium blockchain and is used to facilitate interbank payments on the Interbank Information Network (IIN). As of October 2023, JPM Coin is used for approximately $1 billion of transactions each day.
Crypto-backed lending, a service previously concentrated within decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, is gradually entering the domain of regulated financial institutions. JPMorgan's potential involvement marks a notable development in the ongoing convergence between traditional finance and digital assets.
