JP Morgan Will Get Involved With Bitcoin if There’s Enough Demand, Says COO

A recent town hall meeting at JP Morgan revealed that many traders inside the bank are “salivating” at Bitcoin, says a report.

Feb 12, 2021

2 min read

JP Morgan and Bitcoin. Image: Shutterstock

Daniel Pinto, co-president and COO of multinational investment bank JP Morgan, confirmed to CNBC that if Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies become widespread, the bank will have no choice but to get involved with them.

“If and when [cryptocurrencies] become a broadly-used asset class, [JP Morgan] will have no choice but to become involved. The demand from clients isn’t there yet, but I’m sure it will be at some point,” Pinto told CNBC’s Hugh Son.

The correspondent explained that big banks have been very reluctant so far to get involved with Bitcoin because it is considered too speculative. However, JP Morgan’s own traders have been looking at Bitcoin charts and “truly salivating at the volatility and the surge of this” lately, which became evident at the recent semi-annual “town hall” meeting at the bank.

"There was a semi-annual town hall meeting last month where $JPM had to grapple with demand coming within from their own traders people who are actually looking at charts of #btc truly salivating at the volatility and the surge of this," says @Hugh_Son. pic.twitter.com/TE3CwTBhVl

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) February 12, 2021

Son also noted that while he has been asking JP Morgan about Bitcoin on a regular basis, he was “really surprised this year by the difference in tone.” When specifically asked about regulation, Pinto reportedly said that JP Morgan’s counterparties are big institutions that are already cleared in terms of know-your-customer procedures.

Additionally, Pinto said that when JP Morgan will finally decide to get into Bitcoin, it will use crypto exchanges the bank is “comfortable with,” specifically namedropping Coinbase.

As Decrypt reported, JP Morgan is actually already exposed to Bitcoin—albeit somewhat indirectly—by being one of Tesla’s shareholders, which recently revealed its $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin.

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

Recommended News

Hacked Crypto Exchange WazirX Gets More Time to Restructure After Court Ruling
Embattled crypto exchange WazirX received a lifeline Tuesday when a Singapore court granted the company's request to present additional arguments for its restructuring plan, extending a crucial moratorium that keeps its recovery efforts alive. The Singapore High Court's decision comes after it initially declined to approve WazirX's proposed restructuring plan in early June. The move dealt a significant blow to the India-serving exchange, which has been struggling to resume operations following a...
NewsBusiness
4 min read
Vismaya VJun 24, 2025
Create an account to save your articles.
Wen Lambo? Jaguar, Land Rover Customizer Revs Up Bitcoin Strategy
ECD Automotive Design, Inc. has secured $500 million to acquire and store massive amounts of Bitcoin in a corporate treasury, according to the firm’s statement on Monday—a business strategy that has gained traction among a number of public companies over the past few months. The Florida-based car restoration company, which bills itself as the largest restorator of Land Rovers and Jaguars, signed a $500 million equity facility with ECDA Bitcoin Treasury LLC, according to its press release. An...
NewsBusiness
2 min read
Liz NapolitanoJun 23, 2025
Create an account to save your articles.
Coinbase Target Price Raised After ‘Transformative Week’: Benchmark
Positive legislative and regulatory developments buoyed Coinbase’s stock last week, among other events boding well for the crypto exchange’s long-term growth prospects, investment bank Benchmark, wrote in a Monday note. The company’s share price jumped more than 23% as Coinbase secured a Markets in Crypto Assets, or MiCA, license and a bipartisan slate of U.S. lawmakers passed the GENIUS Act in the Senate, which seeks to establish federal rules for stablecoins, Equity Research Analyst Mark Palme...
NewsBusiness
3 min read
André BeganskiJun 23, 2025
Create an account to save your articles.

Coin Prices