JP Morgan, one of the largest banking institutions in the United States, is looking at allowing its clients to trade bitcoin futures, while its Chief Executive James Dimon stays negative to Bitcoin believing it’s a fraud.
According to the latest Wall Street Journal report, JP Morgan Chase & Co., a leading global financial services firm operating worldwide and the US largest banking institution, is considering whether to provide its clients access to CME’s new bitcoin product through its futures-brokerage unit. The final decision depends on JPMorgan’s customers’ demand.
The news can seem a bit contradictory if we remember JP Morgan’s Chief Executive James Dimon, stating that Bitcoin is a fraud, which became the most outspoken critic of Bitcoin on Wall Street. Moreover, on multiple occasions Dimon hinted that he believes digital currency is a bubble that will crash. On a conference last month he said: “If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day.”
Dimon also said he would fire anyone caught investing in Bitcoin and seemed to be ready to fulfill the promise. His finance chief, Marianne Lake, has struck a more measured tone. Last month she said that the firm was open minded to the potential uses for digital currencies so long as they are properly regulated.
Surprisingly, that despite Dimon’s negative attitude to cryptocurrency, JPMorgan would be moving forward with plans to allow clients to trade in it through the bank.
The introduction of Bitcoin Futures Contract by the CME group, which is planned to be launched by the end of the year, was followed by Bitcoin’s new all-time high of $8336. The upswing was recorded on Monday, November 20. And the rate doesn’t seem to stop rising. According to the predictions of legendary hedge fund manager and a billionaire trader Michael Novogratz, Bitcoin can touch $10,000 by the end of this year.
Apart from CME Group, a few more Wall Street financial institutions have turned optimistic about Bitcoin’s future. One of such examples is LedgerX, a federally regulated exchange and clearinghouse, which has initiated the first-ever long-term Bitcoin futures ‘option’ pegged at a price of $10,000.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has recently stated that bitcoin futures could help dampen the coin’s volatility:
“We would not overstate this, as a material reduction in volatility would require there to be a large community of speculators prepared to provide liquidity to the natural owners of the various coins, but given the volatility of the coin markets, maybe there already exists a cadre of participants who would look to short coins on strong days and vice versa, which could overall reduce volatility.”
Still, some experts continue to doubt that bitcoin futures would be positive for the markets, holding on to the point that such a product could ultimately destabilize the real economy.
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