JPMorgan Will Soon Allow Clients to Buy Bitcoin, Says CEO Jamie Dimon

Highlights:

• JPMorgan will soon let clients buy Bitcoin but won’t offer crypto custody services.
• Dimon once called Bitcoin a fraud but now allows clients to access Bitcoin ETFs.
• Bitcoin is gaining over gold as U.S. states and companies increase Bitcoin adoption.

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, announced during a speech at the banking giant’s annual investor day on May 19, that his bank will soon allow its clients to buy Bitcoin (BTC). However,  JPMorgan will not provide cryptocurrency custody services.

JUST IN: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said they will allow clients to buy #Bitcoin 🚀 pic.twitter.com/wO0djlYGUM

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 19, 2025

Dimon’s BTC Criticism Contrasts JPMorgan’s Growing Crypto Moves

Although Dimon still doesn’t like Bitcoin, his statement shows big changes since 2017. At that time, he said Bitcoin was a “fraud,” like the tulip bubble, and would fail. Dimon once said he would fire any JPMorgan employee caught trading Bitcoin, calling it “stupid” and against company rules. 

Dimon’s recent statement follows his 2024 CNBC interview, where he said he would stop talking about Bitcoin publicly. He also said Bitcoin “has no intrinsic value” and is often used by criminals in money laundering, sex trafficking, and ransomware. “I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy Bitcoin,” he said. He also stressed that blockchain is overvalued. However, last week JPMorgan Chase completed its first structured transaction on a public blockchain. This was done in partnership with Chainlink and Ondo Finance.

CNBC reported, citing sources that JPMorgan will let clients access Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Until now, the bank focused on futures-based crypto products, not direct digital asset ownership. Morgan Stanley, competing with JPMorgan, recently started providing spot Bitcoin ETFs to eligible clients. Since their launch in January last year, spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. have attracted nearly $42 billion in total inflows. Moreover, changes in rules by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, banking regulators, and others are driving global crypto adoption. This positive trend has accelerated under President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policies.

Nic Puckrin, CEO and co-founder of The Coin Bureau, says Dimon has been a strong critic of Bitcoin for a long time. Yet, now Dimon’s company is allowing clients to access Bitcoin. Puckrin believes this change shows Bitcoin’s adoption is becoming unstoppable.

Wild!

One of the biggest Bitcoin sceptics has been Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan.

For over 8 years he has been calling it every name in the book.

Today his company will allow their clients to buy it.

Bitcoin is truly an unstoppable force 🚀 pic.twitter.com/YkTq7xDKjV

— Nic (@nicrypto) May 19, 2025

BTC Set to Outperform Gold in Second Half of 2025 JPMorgan Predicts

JPMorgan analysts said Bitcoin will likely gain more than gold in the second half of the year due to higher corporate demand and growing U.S. state support. 

The analysts stated:

“Between mid-February and mid-April gold was rising at the expense of bitcoin, while of the past three weeks we have been observing the opposite, i.e. bitcoin rising at the expense of gold. In all, we expect the YTD zero sum game between gold and bitcoin to extend to the remainder of the year, but are biased towards crypto-specific catalysts creating more upside for bitcoin over gold into the second half of the year.” 

Since April 22, gold has fallen nearly 8%, while Bitcoin has risen 18%. Investors are shifting funds from gold ETFs to Bitcoin, reflecting changing market preferences and growing confidence in cryptocurrency. Some U.S. states support Bitcoin now. New Hampshire allows 5% of reserves in Bitcoin. Arizona is creating a BTC reserve and won’t raise taxes this year. Companies like Strategy and Metaplanet are buying more Bitcoin.

JUST IN: JPMorgan says #Bitcoin likely to have more upside than gold in the second half of 2025 🚀 pic.twitter.com/YPrHivch9O

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 15, 2025