JPMorgan warming up to Bitcoin? Bank eyes crypto-backed loans in 2026

JPMorgan Chase is exploring plans to offer loans backed by clients’ cryptocurrency holdings, including bitcoin and ethereum, as early as 2026, the Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The move signals a dramatic shift for the banking giant, whose CEO Jamie Dimon has long expressed skepticism toward digital assets. It also comes as Wall Street accelerates its embrace of crypto, with rival banks like Bank of America and Citibank developing stablecoins amid a broader regulatory thaw in Washington, reports Reuters.

“We’re going to allow you to buy it, we’re not going to custody it,” Dimon said earlier this year, likening the policy to permitting behavior he personally disagrees with. Despite calling himself “not a fan” of the bitcoin universe due to risks like leverage and money laundering, Dimon acknowledged JPMorgan would participate in the emerging stablecoin market.

The bank’s pivot arrives just as President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law — a sweeping piece of legislation that lays down the first major rules for digital assets, especially stablecoins pegged to the US dollar.

“This could be perhaps the greatest revolution in financial technology since the birth of the Internet itself,” Trump said, calling stablecoins the foundation of a new financial era. He also pledged to sign a broader market structure bill that recently passed the House.

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With inputs from Reuters