🏦 JPMorgan to Accept Bitcoin & Ether as Loan Collateral by End 2025

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, is preparing to allow its institutional clients to use their held Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as collateral for loans by the end of 2025. This marks the bank’s most significant leap into the digital asset space, building upon its previous move in mid-2025 to accept certain Bitcoin ETFs as loan collateral.

This development is particularly notable given the bank's history. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's CEO, has been a long-time Bitcoin skeptic, famously dismissing it as a "hyped-up fraud" and a "pet rock." Despite these past comments, the bank is now treating BTC and ETH as legitimate collateral for institutional lending, aligning them with traditional assets like stocks, bonds, and gold, driven primarily by surging client demand.

This new global program extends beyond the bank's existing policy, which permits borrowing against Bitcoin ETFs (such as IBIT, FBTC) with a Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio of up to 25%. The bank is now going a step further by accepting the actual underlying Bitcoin or Ether, which will be securely held by approved third-party custodians.

JPMorgan's move is reflective of Wall Street's accelerating embrace of the crypto space. Other major banks are also deepening their involvement: Morgan Stanley plans to open BTC and ETH trading to its E*Trade clients, while State Street and BNY Mellon are expanding crypto custody services. This shift clearly indicates that crypto is evolving into a foundational element of the traditional financial system. With rising client confidence and increasing regulatory clarity globally (particularly in the US, EU, Singapore, and the UAE), this program marks a major milestone, cementing Bitcoin and Ether as true blue-chip assets within finance.