Jamie Dimon, the head of J.P. Morgan, is known for his outspoken, unfavorable views about Bitcoin. But this won't stop him from launching his own digital coin.
J.P. Morgan will go live with its own digital coin in a few months' time, the biggest U.S. bank told television channel «CNBC». It will even lend its initials to the new cryptocurrency, which it dubbed JPM Coin.
Bitcoin – a Fraud
Jamie Dimon, the all-powerful head of the bank, was an outspoken critic of cryptocurrencies, and bitcoin in particular. In 2017 he said that bitcoin was a fraud, adding that he would fire any of his traders who dared to trade the coin.
Dimon’s ire seems to have cooled ever so slightly since. The blockchain experts at his bank identified several advantages of having a cryptocurrency. One being that it could serve as a replacement for international payments for corporate clients, another for securities transactions and a third advantage would be for the treasury services of the bank for business clients. Last but not least, the bank also envisages using JPM Coin as a base currency for mobile payments, the television channel reported.
Swiss Project Delay
While J.P. Morgan seems intent on going ahead with its own digital currency, Swiss projects seem to have stalled. UBS and Credit Suisse, the two Swiss big banks, worked on the so-called utility settlement coin, or USC, for years. The intention at some stage had been to launch by the end of 2018. It looks as if the JPM Coin will be going live first.
