By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 24th, 2024
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have nothing to be afraid of. Bloomberg’s recent report has been officially refuted, as JPM Coin is not even a crypto.
Following the news of February 14 about JP Morgan‘s launching its new cryptocurrency dubbed JPM Coin, a lot of controversial responses from crypto community continue to appear on the Web. Some crypto enthusiasts have met the news with promising expectations, while others have taken it with mistrust. However, the most unexpectedly outrageous response came from Bloomberg, the well-known financial media outlet, which reported that the launch of JPM Coin is boosting Bitcoin price.
At the time of JP Morgan’s announcement, the crypto market cap was actually down by 0.6%. A few days after, the crypto market started to go up again, especially Bitcoin (BTC) which price surged slightly above $4,000 USD. According to Bloomberg, it was a “delayed boost” caused by JPM token. Ironically, the outlet did not mention in the report other factors which affected the surge, such as the Lightning Network products, which are getting stronger every day.
The statement is more than hillarious and first of all demonstrates total misunderstanding of what JPM Coin is. In fact, JPM Coin is not even a cryptocurrency. It represents itself a centralized digital token designed to be used internally. Although it does use the blockchain technology, it does not mean that it has something in common with Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency.
Moreover, while in common understanding a cryptocurrency should be decentralized, JPM Coin is centralized and relies on a trusted third party, not to mention that JP Morgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, is a well-known Bitcoin’s hater, who considers it as a crap. Essentially, JPM Coin is a stablecoin, which is developed more to settle payments between clients than having its own free market as Bitcoin does. In other words, JPM Coin embodies everything that Bitcoin is struggling against.
However, the Bloomberg’s ironic report is only the latest one to hit the headlines. It is not the only one outlet to spread the wrong statements around the Internet. Baron’s laughable “JPMorgan Just Killed the Bitcoin Dream” or The Washington Examiner’s “JPMorgan’s Alternative to Bitcoin” are among other examples of complete misunderstanding of the new cryptocurrency’s true nature:
JPMorgan Just Killed the Bitcoin Dream https://t.co/4WXtzXMOc6
— Barron's (@barronsonline) February 14, 2019
As we can see, while being presented as the first native cryptocurrency issued by a major bank, JPM Coin is a cryptocurrency in name only. The bank will use it to instantly settle payments between clients. Further, it could be used to digitize securities like stocks and bonds. So there is definitely nothing to be afraid of for Bitcoin or any other crypto.