JPMorgan, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company, plans to allow its institutional clients to use Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as loan collateral by the end of 2025.
The move marks one of the most significant steps yet by a major traditional bank to integrate digital assets into mainstream finance and reflects growing confidence in cryptocurrencies as legitimate financial products.
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JP Morgan expands crypto-backed loans
Bloomberg revealed that the program will be offered globally and will rely on third-party custodians to safely store collateralized crypto assets. Notably, in July BeInCrypto reported that such an initiative was under consideration.
At the time, officials suggested the bank could start offering crypto-backed loans within the next year. However, the latest update indicates that the launch could happen before the end of this year.
The latest policy shift builds on JPMorgan’s initial move to accept exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to cryptocurrencies as collateral. The bank first began lending to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), marking the first step toward integrating digital assets into its lending operations.
This happened despite CEO Jamie Dimon’s personal views on cryptocurrencies remaining cautious. In 2023, Dimon described Bitcoin as a “hyped scam” and even called it a “pet rock.” In December of the same year, he doubled down on his criticism, saying he was “strongly opposed to cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin.”
“We’re all going to have some kind of digital currency at some point,” Dimon said in a January 2025 interview. “I’m not against cryptocurrencies. You know, Bitcoin itself has no intrinsic value. It’s heavily used by sex traffickers, money launderers, ransomware.”
Nevertheless, the latest efforts reflect banks adopting a more pragmatic approach. Customers were able to purchase Bitcoin in May. The bank also introduced its own stablecoin alternative, the JP Morgan Deposit Token (JPMD). This token operates on Base.
“JPMD is JPMorgan’s first offering on public blockchain infrastructure, providing institutional investors with a digital money alternative to stablecoins,” the bank said.
Additionally, JPMorgan’s blockchain network Kinexys has experienced significant expansion, with average daily trading volume exceeding $2 billion. In Q3 2025, Kinexys expanded its presence in the areas of carbon markets, supply chain finance, and cross-border payments. This underlined the bank’s goal of making blockchain infrastructure a core element of institutional payments.
JPMorgan is also among 30 global banks participating in SWIFT’s effort to build a shared digital ledger. Designed to facilitate real-time cross-border payments.
