JPMorgan is seeking to expand its involvement in blockchain and cryptocurrency and is currently formulating plans to provide cryptocurrency trading services, as stated by a company executive.
However, the direct custody of crypto assets is not currently an option.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe on Monday, Scott Lucas, JPMorgan’s global head of markets and digital assets, was asked whether the bank would follow competitors like Citibank in providing crypto custody services to clients.
In his response, Lucas indicated that such services are not anticipated in the “near term,” but he highlighted that the bank aims to offer crypto trading services.
“I think Jamie [Dimon] was pretty clear on investor day that we’re going to be involved in the trading of that, but custody is not on the table at the moment,” he noted, adding that:
“There’s a lot of questions around our own risk appetite and how far we wanna go down that path, from trading and other sides of it, and custody I guess would follow.”
Lucas mentioned that JPMorgan is currently identifying what “the right custodians” would be for the firm.
JPMorgan’s ‘and’ approach to crypto
During the interview, Lucas referred to JPMorgan’s “and” approach multiple times, explaining that the bank aims to seize various opportunities in the sector rather than targeting one prospect over another.
“I think when it comes to how we approach this, we’re very much taking an ‘and’ approach. There’s the existing market and there’s opportunities to do new things. And those ‘and’ opportunities aren’t exclusive to one or the other,” he stated.
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Throughout 2025, JPMorgan has begun adopting a broader perspective on crypto and blockchain, exemplified by partnerships with industry leaders like Coinbase.
This increased engagement seems to be partially influenced by a shift in attitude from its historically crypto-skeptical CEO, Jamie Dimon.
After years of criticizing the crypto sector, Dimon declared in August that he had become a “believer in stablecoins” and recognized the value of blockchain technology.
Discussing JPMorgan’s deposit token JPMD, which launched in a pilot on Base in June, Lucas expressed enthusiasm about its potential for servicing institutional clients while also monitoring stablecoin developments.
“So when it comes to JPMD, I think it’s really exciting, there’s a real opportunity for us to think about how we can offer different services for our clients on the cash side. As well as responding to client demand to do things like stablecoins,” he said, adding:
And that strategy is still emerging, as you can understand. It’s only really been a few months since we’ve had some more clear regulation around what the opportunity looks like.”
In the broader blockchain space, Lucas added that JPMorgan does not foresee a single network, like Ethereum, dominating the market and becoming the main activity hub.
Instead, he anticipates various opportunities for the bank to leverage in the near future.
“I don’t think there’ll be one, and actually we expected some consolidation in that space and now we’re seeing a bunch of new layer 1s being rolled out… so there’s a lot to play for when it comes to the public blockchain, we certainly see opportunity there and we will be doing things in that space in the coming quarters,” he remarked.
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