JPMorgan Chase will launch an actively managed bitcoin fund for its customers but the move will be made later this year.
JPMorgan is following its rival steps. Morgan Stanley MS is a multinational investment bank and financial services company that launched bitcoin funds for its private clients from Galaxy Digital, FS Investments, and NYDIG.
The fund will be available only to private wealth division customers. The bank will enlist NYDIG, to serve as custody provider. NYDIG is an institutional technology and financial company that is dedicated to bitcoin.
The bitcoin investment fund products last March were only available to high-net-worth clients. Morgan Stanley didn’t back down from crypto. In fact, the bank published just a few weeks ago job positions as a cryptocurrency and blockchain lead analyst.
In April, Morgan Stanley MS announced in a filing that several of its funds may gain exposure to Bitcoin. These funds will be able to invest in the cryptocurrency, but not directly. Investments will be possible through Grayscale’s bitcoin trust or cash-settled futures.
The first funds to be included will be the Institutional Fund, Institutional Fund Trust, Europe Opportunity Fund, Insight Fund, and Variable Insurance Fund.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., which is an investment bank headquarters in New York, offers financial services as well. No one would have expected JPMorgan to take this initiative and approach cryptocurrency, especially after its CEO called bitcoin a ‘dangerous fraud’ just a few years ago.
“If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day.”
Jamie Dimon, CEO JPMorgan Chase
Many analysts at JPMorgan have been criticizing the cryptocurrency saying bitcoin’s price was above fair value, and it is used very little for commercial purposes.
“Crypto-assets continue to rank as the poorest hedge for major drawdowns inequities, with questionable diversification benefits at prices so far above production costs, while correlations with cyclical assets are rising as crypto ownership is mainstreamed.”
JPMorgan analyst
