JPMorgan is one of the few financial entities leading crypto adoption as it has in the past tried exploring bitcoin-linked products for greater exposure.
The chief executive officer for JPMorgan created blockchain unit Onyx, Umar Farooq, at Barron’s Live event held on 13 January, spoke about the growth of crypto and compared it to Napster. Napster, a peer-to-peer file sharing and audio streaming service, had become quite a rage in the early 2000s but faced a huge blow in the form of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Metallica, the heavy metal band. He described crypto’s current evolution as “a Cambrian explosion.”
The Similarities in the Evolution of Crypto and Napster
Farooq agreed to the fact that crypto is not going anywhere and will continue its existence but expressed how we are clueless about its Spotify age as we are still at the Napster stage. He considers Napster as an important phase in the evolution of audio streaming. Calling the application ‘clunky’, the JPMorgan executive added that Apple Music and Spotify would not have existed without Napster as the latter served as the starting point for the future progression of how audio streaming and sharing would work.
JPMorgan and Its Blockchain Journey
The above words coming from a banking heavyweight that is on its way to fully commercializing wholesale digital payments speak volumes about the development of crypto. With the appreciation in the price of Bitcoin and Ether combined with the growing adoption of blockchain, this is the perfect time for discussion around the journey of digital currencies.
JPMorgan is one of the few financial entities leading crypto adoption as it has in the past tried exploring bitcoin-linked products for greater exposure. JPM Coin, the digital payments system, was rolled out by the bank in 2019 and the next year saw the creation of a new blockchain-based unit called Onyx. Besides, the bank also provided crypto access to its wealth management clients and has been roping in new employees skilled in blockchain and crypto. Its blockchain unit is also working on NFTs, another growing blockchain ecosystem most familiar to the public especially artists.
About Onyx
Driving a major change in the financial services industry, Onyx is a JPMorgan unit that offers a blockchain-based platform to revolutionize the movement of money, assets and information. Comprising strategic and technical thought leaders, it is the first global bank to move deposit accounts on a blockchain ledger. Onyx leverages sophisticated emerging technologies including blockchain to offer advanced platforms and products. Through these innovative solutions, the bank is at the forefront to expedite the resolution of real-world business challenges. Through its offerings like the Liink, Coin Systems and Blockchain Launch, it is in pursuit of unlocking the real potential of DLT and is working with global enterprises through highly secure yet open collaboration platforms.
Blockchain is one of the hottest new technologies out there and with more and more institutions and individuals displaying interest, it is no surprise that crypto is slowly entering the mainstream. With heavyweights like JPMorgan at the forefront of bringing blockchain into everyday life, digital currency and assets are going to be the next big thing.
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