The Next Generation Of Crypto Storage Is Here. It Is JPMorgan’s Wallet

This year’s collapse of cryptocurrency companies has left millions of dollars of client funds stranded. This shows how much trust is needed in organizations that act as custodians of digital assets.

JPMorgan Chase will use this as a business opportunity. And it is visible in the actions of one of the biggest banks in the U.S.

The bank designs the wallet on “scalable e-commerce solutions,” which include paying counterparties in more than 120 currencies in more than 170 countries. Three hundred sixty-five days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

On Nov. 15, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cleared a trademark registration for “J.P. Morgan Wallet,” positioning the largest U.S. bank for potential growth in cryptocurrency storage solutions.

The trademark registration includes many potential uses of the wallet service, including wire transfer and financial exchange of virtual currencies, as well as crypto payment processing. The application also includes more typical payment services, such as credit card and cash-payment processing as well.

On its website page, JPMorgan details how its wallet relies on “real-time virtual subregisters,” perhaps referring to the type of ledger technology that underlies Bitcoin and other decentralized blockchain-based digital assets. JPMorgan did not immediately react to Barron’s request for comment on the particular usage of the J.P. Morgan wallet for crypto-related purposes.

“While the viability of the crypto ecosystem remains in doubt,” said Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at digital asset broker GlobalBlock, “JPMorgan continues to make strides toward adopting crypto products.”

However, this would not be JPMorgan’s first venture into cryptocurrency; the bank has been at the forefront of researching the use of blockchain technology for financial services innovation. The bank completed its first live decentralized finance, or DeFi, deal on a public blockchain earlier this month.