JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to run trials using cryptocurrency for clients of its wholesale-payments business, CNBC reported.
Dubbed JPM Coin, the initial tests will involve only a tiny portion of payments at the start, according to CNBC. It’s based on blockchain technology, a decentralized public ledger of cryptocurrency transactions that’s seen as a way to track transactions without central record-keeping.
JPMorgan previously developed the Interbank Information Network, which is based on the ethereum blockchain. IIN, which has about 157 banks in its network from all parts of the globe, is intended to address some of the challenges of interbank information-sharing and to help payments reach beneficiaries sooner.
The most famous use of blockchain -- cryptocurrencies -- has been stumbling. Bitcoin is down more than 80 percent from its highs in December 2017, and, according to JPMorgan calculations, has actually recently been trading below the average cost it takes to mine.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon famously called Bitcoin a “ fraud” in 2017, though he’s repeatedly said he sees many ways the bank could use blockchain technology.
The bank in January revamped its treasury-services business, combining teams from the consumer and corporate bank to create a group called wholesale payments that will deal in cash management, payment solutions and merchant services. It’s led by Takis Georgakopoulos.
This article provided by Bloomberg News.