Investors want to get their hands on Bitcoin, and the big banks are already considering supporting the cryptocurrency so as not to be left behind. After a remarkable price recovery, Bitcoin seems to have stood the test of time, proving to naysayers that it is a reliable asset and an excellent store of value in the long term.
Investors are taking note, and it seems that the constant pressures exerted by these groups on the banking sector are indeed yielding good results.
JP Morgan:”We Will Have To Be Involved”
According to information gathered by financial journalist Hugh Son, JP Morgan – the largest investment bank in the U.S. – may be throwing its weight around as it contemplates the possibility of supporting cryptocurrency operations if demand continues to increase.
And judging by what JPMorgan co-president Daniel Pinto told Son during an interview, this is not a question of if, but when:
“If over time an asset class develops that is going to be used by different asset managers and investors, we will have to be involved. The demand isn’t there yet, but I’m sure it will be at some point.”
Sun commented that the pressures are internal. Over the past few months, Investors have been asking for ways to buy and sell Bitcoin with the safety provided by the traditional banking system.
“There was a semi-annual town hall meeting last month where $JPM had to grapple with demand coming within from their own traders people who are actually looking at charts of #btc truly salivating at the volatility and the surge of this”
Bitcoin is Now On The Eye of Major Corporations
This change of heart by JP Morgan comes during a season of unprecedented support for Bitcoin. The number of retail traders has increased, politicians are contemplating investing in Bitcoin as a way to diversify public holdings, big-name companies like Tesla and PayPal have announced major moves, and even banks are already taking their first steps to offer cryptocurrency services.
The most recent example is the Bank of New York Mellon, the oldest bank in the United States, which recently announced that it will offer custody services for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Other companies are following JP Morgan’s lead. Mastercard recently announced that they were working on a way to support bitcoin later this year. The statements come months after Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga said bitcoin was too volatile to help financial inclusion.
JP Morgan’s Love-Hate Relationship With Bitcoin
The relationship between JP Morgan and Bitcoin has improved dramatically during this latest bullrun. According to a prediction from their own analysts, the long-term outlook looks quite impressive, with a price horizon close to $146,000 per token:
“A convergence in volatilities between bitcoin and gold is unlikely to happen quickly and is in our mind a multi-year process. This implies that the above $146k theoretical bitcoin price target should be considered as a long-term target, and thus an unsustainable price target for this year.”
A major change from its CEO’s statements back in 2017 when he said Bitcoin was “worse than the Tulip Bulb” during the Delivering Alpha conference.
But there’s a major difference between 2017 and 2021: Institutional investments. There is “little doubt that the institutional flow impulse into bitcoin is what distinguishes 2020 from 2017,” JP Morgan Said. So perhaps, those major corporations, hedge funds and banks that only want to make money are not so bad… As long as they hodl Bitcoin.
