JPMorgan to Launch Crypto Wallet Under New Trademark

• JPMorgan now has a trademark for a Bitcoin wallet from the USPTO.
• Despite the senior executives’ reservations about the asset, the bank bets on cryptocurrency.
• Institutions all across the world are embracing Bitcoin.

JPMorgan, a global banking institution headquartered in New York City, has trademarked a cryptocurrency wallet. The banking giant is developing a global computer network to facilitate the electronic transfer of virtual currencies.

Kondoudis, a patent and trademark lawyer, claims that on November 15, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) authorized JPMorgan Chase Co.’s trademark application. According to him, the trademark extends to the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies and the processing of payments made using cryptocurrencies.

JPMorgan Chase Expands Cryptocurrency Operations

The bank’s CEO has taken a public stand against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but the bank is still betting on crypto-related products in an effort to speed up its transactions.  In 2013, JPMorgan suggested a system of payments similar to Bitcoin. It submitted a patent application in 2018 for a P2P payment system that would facilitate intra- and inter-bank settlements via blockchain technology. 

The bank’s support for crypto innovation was on display when, in late October 2020, it announced the launch of its JPM Coin stablecoin, the first cryptocurrency backed by a U.S. bank used to send cross-border payments. To facilitate the creation of innovative products, networks, and markets, they simultaneously unveiled Onyx, the first blockchain platform to be headed by a bank.

At the beginning of November, JPMorgan completed its first international transaction using Polygon, a Layer-2 scalability solution for the Ethereum network. This was a big step for the bank.

Last month, the biggest bank in the United States said that it was considering making a digital wallet that would let customers choose digital identification keys across multiple DeFi and metaverse apps.

On the Flipside

• Since 2017, JPMorgan’s CEO has taken a hard line against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, going so far as to say he would dismiss any JPMorgan trader involved with cryptocurrencies.
• Trademark filings for “JP Morgan Wallet” indicate that the new digital wallet would facilitate cryptocurrency payments, although they do not specify which coins will be accepted.

Why You Should Care

Even with the recent collapse of Terra and the bankruptcies of other hedge funds and cryptocurrency exchanges like FTX, the cryptocurrency market has proven that there is a community eager to invest in it regardless of the amount of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) that has been spreading about it lately.

In a note to clients at the start of the year, Kenneth Worthington, an equity research analyst at JPMorgan, said that big investors and corporations would start to get into the cryptocurrency markets and industry. The latest trademark from JPMorgan shows that the bank is playing a big part in this adoption. 

Read more JPMorgan crypto news:

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