JPMorgan Chase will allow its institutional clients to use Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as collateral for loans by the end of the year, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
This move represents a significant step in the integration of digital assets into traditional Wall Street lending practices.
The global program will use an external custodian to hold the pledged cryptocurrencies. This development follows the bank's earlier decision to accept crypto-linked ETFs as collateral, now extending the option to the underlying digital assets themselves.
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This provides institutions with a new avenue to access liquidity without having to sell their long-term holdings.
The change is notable, given the historical skepticism of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who once mocked Bitcoin.