JPMorgan plans to launch a new program by year-end that will allow institutional clients to use Bitcoin and Ether as loan collateral.
JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, is preparing to allow institutional clients to use Bitcoin BTC $89 717 24h volatility: 2.9% Market cap: $1.79 T Vol. 24h: $56.67 B and Ethereum ETH $3 176 24h volatility: 4.0% Market cap: $383.52 B Vol. 24h: $34.77 B as collateral for loans. The bank aims to launch the initiative by the end of 2025.
The program will use a third-party custodian to safeguard crypto assets, according to people familiar with the matter. The offering will reportedly be available to clients worldwide and could represent one of the major steps toward incorporating crypto into traditional lending systems.
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that JPMorgan was also planning to let trading and wealth-management clients use crypto ETFs as collateral, starting with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.
The bank’s new initiative builds on that plan, expanding the range of crypto-linked products available to institutional borrowers.
JPMorgan plans to allow its institutional clients to use their holdings of BTC and ETH as loan collateral by the end of this year. This global program will rely on third-party custodians to safeguard the pledged crypto tokens. This initiative represents an extension of JPMorgan's…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 24, 2025
JPMorgan’s Deepening Crypto Strategy
This development comes as demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum exposure grows among institutional investors. This is encouraged by more crypto-friendly policies in the U.S. under Donald Trump administration.
The crypto community has recently observed JPMorgan’s evolving stance on digital assets.
CEO Jamie Dimon, long known for his skepticism toward crypto, said earlier this year that JPMorgan would permit clients to buy Bitcoin, even though it would not directly offer custody services. This marks a stark contrast to his 2017 remarks, when he called Bitcoin a “fraud.”
JPMorgan’s involvement in blockchain technology now runs deep. Its Onyx platform processes billions of dollars in tokenized transactions.
The bank’s private, dollar-backed digital currency, JPM Coin, is used by institutional clients for real-time, cross-border settlements.
This year, the bank also added tokenized collateral services, allowing clients to post digital assets for trading and lending.
Wall Street’s Growing Crypto Integration
JPMorgan’s move comes as other major Wall Street banks ramp up their own crypto initiatives. Goldman Sachs has executed Bitcoin-backed loans for clients, signaling the beginning of broader crypto-collateral acceptance in traditional credit markets.
BNY Mellon and State Street have rolled out tokenization, custody, and fund servicing platforms to help institutions safely engage with digital assets. Meanwhile, Citigroup and U.S. Bancorp are developing custody and payment solutions for institutional investors to use crypto as collateral.
These efforts suggest that what began as pilot programs across Wall Street has matured into real client-facing services. This brings the traditional finance world and crypto closer than ever before.
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