JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on Monday during the bank’s annual investor day that clients will soon have the ability to purchase bitcoin, even as he reaffirmed his deep mistrust of the cryptocurrency. Dimon said:

We are going to allow you to buy it … We’re not going to custody it. We’re going to put it in statements for clients.

The announcement marks a notable policy shift for the largest U.S. bank, which until now limited its crypto involvement to futures-based instruments, avoiding direct exposure to bitcoin. However, Dimon made it clear that offering access does not indicate approval: “I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke,” Dimon said, emphasizing:

I defend your right to buy bitcoin.

This development follows similar moves by other financial giants that have begun allowing qualified clients to access spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Despite growing industry adoption, Dimon reiterated his belief that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies serve no legitimate economic function. His skepticism has remained consistent over the years, including during a 2023 Senate hearing in which he stated: “The only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers … money laundering, tax avoidance.” He further said at the hearing: “If I was the government, I’d close it down.” Dimon has repeatedly expressed concern over the anonymous nature of bitcoin ownership and its use in illicit finance.

At the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Dimon doubled down on his BTC stance, saying bitcoin “does nothing” and referring to it as the pet rock. Meanwhile, other banking executives are approaching crypto with greater openness. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick told CNBC the firm is exploring additional crypto market involvement, helped by recent regulatory shifts under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Regulatory attitudes toward crypto are shifting, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) easing earlier anti-crypto guidance. Moreover, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently repealed Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121), a 2022 guideline that had mandated banks to record crypto assets held for customers as liabilities on their balance sheets.

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