According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, JP Morgan Chase is considering providing access to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) Bitcoin futures trading through its futures platform. The CME’s announcement last week regarding the addition of Bitcoin futures sent prices of the cryptocurrency to new all time highs over $8,300. According to the report:
"J.P. Morgan is considering whether to provide its clients access to CME's new Bitcoin product through its futures-brokerage unit.”
Oh Jamie…
The irony of the announcement, of course, is that Jamie Dimon has been the most outspoken critic of Bitcoin on Wall Street, calling it a ‘fraud’ and saying that anyone who invests in Bitcoin is ‘stupid’. Dimon also said he would fire anyone caught investing in it - a promise which he has yet to fulfill.
The strongly negative leanings of some Wall Street pundits have been matched by the positive outlooks from others. However, whether Jamie gets in or not, Bitcoin futures will likely become a reality in early December, powerfully increasing adoption.