JPMorgan Has Its Own Crypto and It's Starting Real-World Trials

While its CEO, Jamie Dimon, is notorious for his critical comments on bitcoin, investment bank JPMorgan is preparing for a future where blockchain is a key part of financial infrastructure with its own cryptocurrency.

Called JPM Coin, the token has been developed by engineers at the bank, according to a report from CNBC on Thursday, and is moving to real-world trials in "a few months".

For the effort, JPM Coin will be used to settle a small portion of its transactions between clients of its wholesale payments business in real time, CNBC says.

"Pretty much every big corporation is our client, and most of the major banks in the world are, too," Farooq concluded.

According to an FAQ released by JPMorgan later Thursday, JPM Coin will initially run on top of Quorum, the private version of ethereum the bank developed in conjunction with EthLab - but not exclusively.

"The JPM Coin will be issued on Quorum Blockchain and subsequently extended to other platforms. JPM Coin will be operable on all standard Blockchain networks," the FAQ says.

"Over time, JPM Coin will be extended to other major currencies. The product and technology capabilities are currency agnostic," according to the FAQ. Reading between the lines, the document suggests that JPMorgan is open to offering a cash-on-ledger service to other permissioned enterprise blockchains.

It contrasts JPM Coin not only with open-access cryptocurrencies but with other stablecoins, such as the USDC coin created by Circle, where "Only exchange customers can mint or redeem stablecoins but anyone can own or trade them."

"IIN transfers information, not payments, between correspondent banks. The JPM Coin, representing fiat currency, is designed to instantaneously transfer value," the document says.

Last April, JPMorgan also partnered with National Bank of Canada and other major firms to trial Quorum with a debt issuance worth $150 million.