JP Morgan, the largest bank in the United States, has officially filed a patent for its cryptocurrency services. According to an application filed with the US Patent Office, the bank wants to create a wallet that allows customers to move cryptocurrencies.
The banking giant plans to allow users to electronically transfer virtual currency through a global computer network. JPMorgan also wants to offer financial services such as savings accounts, investments and other types of trading.
The trademark also covers financial exchanges of cryptocurrencies, such as exchange-like services. In other words, JP Morgan appears to be interested in building a “super app” designed to process cryptocurrency payments and services.
This is not the bank's first venture in this regard, as JPMorgan proposed a Bitcoin-style payment system in 2013. Five years later, the bank filed a patent for a peer-to-peer payment system that used blockchain for banking regulations ..
However, filing a patent does not mean that JPMorgan will launch a digital wallet. But in this case, the bank already has JPMorgan Wallet, which facilitates traditional payments. This indicates that the service can receive “updates” targeting cryptocurrencies.
Competing for digital payments
Last month, the largest bank in the United States revealed that it was exploring the idea of launching a digital wallet that would allow users to choose digital identities from various decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and metaverses.
The system took its first steps on November 3, when JPMorgan held its first DeFi trade facilitated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
That's why JPMorgan has apparently warmed to the idea of making cryptocurrencies at least a small part of its business. But the bank's CEO, Jamie Dimon, remains an outspoken critic of Bitcoin (BTC).
Criticism of Dimon began in 2017, when the CEO called BTC a “fraud” and “banned” bank employees from purchasing the cryptocurrency. A few months after the announcement, BTC shot up and reached $20,000 for the first time.
In 2018, the CEO regretted these proclamations. But after swearing at BTC, Dimon recently called Bitcoin “dirty” and “expensive.” At the same time, he has a positive view of blockchain, being one of the biggest supporters of JPMorgan's investments in this area.
In October 2020, JPMorgan launched its own digital currency JPM Coin for commercial use. The project emerged at the beginning of 2019.