JP Morgan Asset & Wealth Management CEO Mary Callahan Erdoes says the banking giant views bitcoin as an asset and “want to invest”.
The comments came in a video clip from “Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein” released on Tuesday by the media outlet which was first recorded on June 7th.
When asked whether she would facilitate Bitcoin transactions for clients who love the coin, Erdoes deferred, arguing it’s “blockchains and digital currencies” that are “changing different financial markets”.
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She went on to say that there is debate as to whether Bitcoin is an asset class or not, but that JP Morgan’s clients increasingly believe it is. In other words, JPM clients are pressuring the institution to take a positive stance on bitcoin.
“A lot of our clients say that’s an asset class, and I want to invest, and our job is to help them put their money where they want to invest,” she continued.
Erdoes clarified that JPM does not see “bitcoin as an asset class, per se.” She points out that only time will tell whether or not bitcoin is a store of value and implied that the volatility of the bitcoin price in USD was among JP Morgan’s reservations.
Bitcoin is up 4,845% in the five years since July 21st, 2016.
In April JPM announced that it planned to allow wealthy client to invest in Bitcoin using one of its actively managed funds. They will probably become the second largest bank to offer access to bitcoin, second to Morgan Stanley.
Since July, the wealth management divisions at major banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPM and Bank of ‘Murica do not offer direct bitcoin investments. However, JP Morgan still provices exposure to customers by proxy through companies like MicroStrategy, Square and Tesla, who hold bitcoin in reserves.
The company has been hiring for roles for its blockchain unit Onyx, a project announced in October 2020 to reflect their “commitment to innovation, and to build a more inclusive financial system.”
Needless to say, nobody doubts JP Morgan’s noble intentions.
In October last year, JPM admitted that Bitcoin has ‘considerable’ upside compared to gold. Bitcoin is up 144% since these comments, and gold is down 5%.
Read More: $55 billion hedge fund invests in crypto
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