JPM's CEO has been vocally critical of Bitcoin for years, but now his banking behemoth could be involved with the asset.
The amendments for spot Bitcoin ETF applications continue, with BlackRock naming Jane Street Capital and JPMorgan Securities as the authorized participants for its own exchange-traded fund, should it receive the green light from the US SEC.
What’s particularly interesting is the involvement of JPM, whose CEO just recently urged the US government to close down Bitcoin.
JPM, Jane Street Named as APs
Global financial behemoths, such as BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck, and Valkyrie, continue with their efforts to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs in the States. Although the local securities regulator has been persistent in the past with rejecting or delaying applications, the landscape seems quite different now, and the general estimates show that such a product could see the light of day as early as mid-January.
Nevertheless, the SEC keeps requesting more and more amendments from the applicants, which might have been the reason behind the recent turbulence in Grayscale – the largest crypto asset manager that is trying to convert its flagship fund into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Despite having a mind-blowing success rate when it comes to ETF applications, BlackRock also had to alter its BTC filing numerous times to satisfy Gary Gensler’s Commission. The latest changes from the world’s largest asset manager were presented on Friday and saw the inclusion of Jane Street and JPMorgan Securities as the authorized participants on behalf of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF application.
Should the filing be approved by the SEC, the APs will acquire the BTC since BlackRock is not legally allowed to do so itself.
Although most reports claim that BlackRock was the first to name its APs, other filings show that Fidelity and WisdomTree have also gone with Jane Street Capital.
JPM’s Involvement
While several US banking giants have either openly supported Bitcoin, like BNY Mellon, or changed their tune after years of bashing, JPMorgan and its CEO, in particular, have been on the opposite corner. Jamie Dimon has used every opportunity to come after Bitcoin, even though he once regretted calling it fraud.
Predominantly, though, he has been against the primary digital asset. His most recent negative comments came just weeks before the bank he operates was named as an AP for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF proposal.
As CryptoPotato reported in early December, Dimon said he would “close down” BTC if he ran the US government as he believed that only criminals use it and other cryptocurrencies. As such, one could ask if his mind changed in three weeks or if he was being hypocritical at some point.
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