JPMorgan, one of the world’s largest financial and banking companies, aims to lead the adoption of blockchain technology and digital assets among institutions.
To achieve this, JPMorgan has been making various efforts related to the crypto/blockchain industry, intending to provide its clients with a new line of business with solutions tailored to a wide range of needs. One of these solutions is Onyx, the banking blockchain platform developed by JPMorgan, designed to offer its clients a space for the exchange of value, information, and digital assets.
Onyx Expands Its Workforce
Onyx was introduced in 2020 as the world’s first blockchain-based platform led by a major bank. Through this platform, financial institutions, fintech, and corporations can access various types of digital assets, conduct transactions for wholesale payments, and seamlessly manage and exchange information within the banking sector. According to the bank, Onyx has been transforming the way money, assets, and information move and are managed worldwide, and due to its success, JPMorgan has been adding new employees to the platform to enhance its efficiency and productivity. From 2020 to the present, the bank has incorporated 200 new employees into Onyx, representing a 200% growth in the platform’s workforce over the last 3 years. This is a significant development for the bank, especially considering the opposition that Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, has maintained towards cryptocurrencies since the inception of Bitcoin.
JPMorgan Nurtures a New Digital Business
Dimon has criticized and belittled Bitcoin, stating that the cryptocurrency resembles a Ponzi scheme or is a fraudulent asset. Recently, Dimon argued that if he were the government, he would “shut down Bitcoin.” However, Dimon’s controversial statements and stance on Bitcoin not only contrast with the growth of the Onyx blockchain platform but also with the services the bank offers to its institutional and retail clients, enabling them to access Bitcoin and other crypto assets through their accounts. In 2021, the bank reported expanding its financial products in cryptocurrencies, allowing a broader group of clients to access this new and emerging asset class. Also, in a letter to investors last year, JPMorgan and Dimon expressed interest in blockchain technology, decentralized finance, and the Metaverse, even opening a digital lounge for Onyx in the virtual world Decentraland, based on Ethereum.
JPMorgan has been striving to stay at the forefront of innovation in new technologies, implementing blockchain, the underlying technology of Bitcoin, in various areas. In addition to this, the bank aims to lead institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies, at a time when institutional appetite for crypto assets like Bitcoin continues to grow, and the possible approval of a Bitcoin ETF is increasingly closer.