What happened?
JPMorgan Chase announced that it will allow the use of spot Bitcoin ETFs as collateral for loans, starting with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. This marks a gradual shift in the attitude of traditional financial institutions toward crypto assets.
Furthermore, JPMorgan will include Bitcoin ETFs alongside stocks and real estate in its calculations for clients’ net worth and liquidity, integrating crypto assets into the mainstream financial system and enhancing their role in financial management and application.
Under the relaxed crypto regulations of the Trump administration, American banks are increasingly embracing crypto assets. JPMorgan’s change in stance reflects a broader shift in the financial environment, moving crypto assets from speculative targets to institutional assets.
JPMorgan opens the use of “spot Bitcoin ETFs” as collateral for loans
Financial giant JPMorgan recently announced that it will allow its clients to use “spot Bitcoin ETFs” as collateral for loans. This decision not only represents a more open attitude of the traditional financial system toward crypto assets but also highlights that U.S. financial institutions have entered a new stage of being “crypto-friendly” under Trump administration regulations.
According to a report by Bloomberg, JPMorgan allows retail and institutional clients to use specific crypto asset-linked products (such as spot Bitcoin ETFs) as collateral for borrowing. The first phase will begin with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which is currently the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by market capitalization in the U.S. According to Sosovalue.com, its total assets under management amount to $70.1 billion.
This decision applies to global clients, and in the future, JPMorgan will also evaluate whether other similar Bitcoin ETFs qualify as collateral.
In addition to being used as collateral, JPMorgan also announced that the holdings of crypto ETFs will be included in clients’ asset net worth and liquidity assessments. This means that in financial services, Bitcoin ETFs will be treated similarly to traditional assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate.
In the past, banks often excluded crypto assets when assessing client credit and only considered them in specific cases. Now, with JPMorgan’s policy change, it is clear that mainstream financial institutions are softening their stance on the crypto market.
U.S. crypto regulatory policies are gradually easing
In recent years, JPMorgan has gradually positioned itself in the crypto market, including launching the USD-pegged stablecoin JPM Coin and purchasing shares of Bitcoin ETFs. However, CEO Jamie Dimon has frequently criticized Bitcoin and even stated that the U.S. should purchase military supplies such as guns, ammunition, and drones instead of Bitcoin.
Nevertheless, Dimon publicly stated at a recent investor day that although he personally does not recognize Bitcoin’s value, he defends people’s right to purchase Bitcoin. He likened it to smoking: “I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your freedom to smoke. I defend your right to buy Bitcoin; feel free.”
Of course, JPMorgan’s new move is not an isolated case. Since Trump’s return to the White House, federal-level crypto regulatory policies have noticeably relaxed. For example, the Federal Reserve recently withdrew its previous guidelines, no longer restricting banks’ involvement in crypto and stablecoin businesses; the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) stated that banks could custody crypto assets held by users.
Additionally, the Senate is promoting legislation related to stablecoins to establish a clear compliance framework; the Trump administration’s announcement of a Bitcoin and other digital asset reserve system can also be seen as a direct recognition of crypto assets by the state.
From once being marginalized assets to now being included in asset allocation and loan assessments, this also indicates that for both individual investors and institutional clients, crypto products will no longer be merely “speculative targets” in asset planning.
Source: CoinTelegraph, PYMNTS