Major U.S. investment bank JPMorgan Chase will eventually accept to get involved in Bitcoin (BTC), co-president Daniel Pinto believes.

The executive told CNBC Friday that JPMorgan'south decision to introduce Bitcoin services would depend on the client need to trade Bitcoin. Although the electric current demand is non strong plenty, Pinto is confident that it could abound farther:

"If over time an asset class develops that is going to be used by different nugget managers and investors, we will have to be involved [...] The demand isn't there however, but I'chiliad sure it will be at some indicate."

Pinto'southward latest remarks follow some bullish signals that take been circulating around JPMorgan for a while. During an internal Zoom call in Jan, JPMorgan'southward global markets head Troy Rohrbaugh reportedly acknowledged that the bank'south own employees were increasingly asking most the bank'due south Bitcoin plans. Pinto was already saying that he was open up-minded virtually Bitcoin, people familiar with the matter reported.

JPMorgan's potential move into Bitcoin appears somewhat ironic, because that the visitor'southward CEO Jamie Dimon is known for his negative opinion toward Bitcoin. In September 2017, Dimon called Bitcoin a "fraud," comparing the earth's largest cryptocurrency to "tulip mania" and predicting a massive collapse. At the fourth dimension, Bitcoin was trading around $three,500. Three months later, the digital money hit $20,000 — though information technology did enter a multi-year bear market place soon thereafter.

Bitcoin overtook JPMorgan in terms of market capitalization at $352 billion in November 2020. The milestone came shortly after Dimon compared Bitcoin to proprietary blockchain networks with regulatory controls, stating, "Bitcoin is kind of unlike and it's not my cup of tea."

JPMorgan strategists have provided mixed signals about Bitcoin in the past. In October 2020, JPMorgan reportedly suggested that Bitcoin's cost would double or triple in the long term. A few months later, JPMorgan strategists John Normand and Federico Manicardi argued that Bitcoin was the least reliable hedge during periods of acute market place stress.