JPMorgan Becomes First Major U.S. Bank To Offer Large Retail Crypto Funds

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The news: JPMorgan Chase made history as the first major U.S. bank to offer crypto funds to retail clients beyond the very rich, according to Insider. The banking giant told wealth management advisers that from July 19 they could receive trading orders for five funds invested in the asset class: four are offered by Grayscale Investments and one is available from Osprey Funds.

Find out more: The funds offer investors indirect exposure to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. Investment vehicles are available to JPMorgan clients who use a variety of wealth management products: self-directed clients who use the bank’s Chase trading application, high-net-worth users of JPMorgan Advisors, and bank clients. ultra-rich private individuals.

The bank limits transactions to unsolicited transactions, which means advisers can only execute transactions at clients’ request.

JPMorgans’ move marks a 180-degree turnaround from the grim view of crypto assets it previously took: In 2017, CEO Jamie Dimon threatened to fire employees who traded Bitcoin. Since then, Dimon has relaxed his stance on crypto, but he recently pointed out that he is still not a fan. Despite the views of the top JPMorgans boss, his clients are clamoring for crypto as an investment, Mary Callahan Erdoes, head of the wealth management division, told Bloomberg.

The big takeaway: By jumping aboard the crypto bandwagon, JPMorgan can discourage exits from its wealth management clients who want to get into cryptocurrency to fintechs like Robinhood and Coinbase, and keep those customers within its ecosystem. The move could also help the bank hold onto deposits from Chase’s retail bank customers that could lead them to buy crypto.

The decision of the largest banking player in the United States to offer broad retail access to crypto will help legitimize the management of these assets by incumbents. Watch out for other established US banks to take action on retail crypto investing. If JPMorgans move sets a trend, crypto trading could quickly turn from a good to have to a need to have.

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