JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is considering providing access to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) (NASDAQ: CME) Bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) futures trading through its futures platform, Bloomberg reported.
According to the report, the largest U.S. bank is gauging client demand and the potential risks of facilitating their trades.
JPMorgan already allows clients some access to Bitcoin through an exchange-traded note, which involves routing their orders to exchanges. Handling client trades of futures contracts is conceptually similar but could still pose some risks.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has been one of Bitcoin’s most prominent detractors, calling it a fraud and deriding buyers as “stupid,” but his finance chief, Marianne Lake, has struck a more measured tone.
The firm is “open minded” to the potential uses for digital currencies so long as they are properly regulated, she said last month.
Chicago-based CME Group has said it hopes to offer bitcoin futures by year-end.