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JPMorgan is launching its own cryptocurrency

JPMorgan is launching its own cryptocurrency

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Cryptocurrency was supposed to replace banks in the long run

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Immigration Activists Protest Outside JPMorganChase HQ In New York City
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase has thrown its hat into the cryptocurrency ring, proposing to launch its own digital coin, as spotted by CNBC. It’s one of the few banks to consider launching cryptocurrency, and the initiative may be surprising given that CEO Jamie Dimon has said he doesn’t “really give a shit” about bitcoin.

The CEO’s harsh views of bitcoin haven’t stopped his company from going ahead and creating a new digital token called the JPM Coin. It’s supposed to give bankers and corporate clients a way to make payments to each other in real time as part of the company’s substantial corporate payments business.

JPMorgan Chase imagines cryptocurrency transactions could replace wire transfers that generally take several days to complete. It sees a future where giant companies like Facebook could move money around quickly for employee payroll just by shifting around JPM Coin. There’s no mention of an average consumer being able to purchase or use JPM Coin, even further down the line.

It’s not the first measure JPMorgan has taken into investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain. JPMorgan already built an Ethereum-based blockchain platform last year for business customers and proposed using digital tokens backed by diamonds and gold bars on the platform.

JPM Coin is supposedly tied to the US dollar for more stability

JPM Coin will be tied to the US dollar, as a way of making it more financially stable than other cryptocurrencies, which have fluctuated wildly in price over recent years. When you sell off a JPM token, you’re supposed to get one dollar back as an assurance that your money is still real.

The coin will first appear in small quantities in a few months as JPMorgan continues to test the technology. It isn’t clear when it could actually see a public launch, if ever.