J.P Morgan, Wells Fargo hold Bitcoin now: Why are they interested in BTC?

• Banks shift to Bitcoin investments, signaling changing views.
• US House passes bill easing SEC guidelines, showing crypto acceptance.

In a new Form F13 filing, J.P. Morgan revealed an investment of $731,246 in spot Bitcoin ETF on behalf of its clients. 

They allocated the majority, $477,425, to IBIT in BlackRock, alongside investing in Bitwise’s BITB, Fidelity’s FBTC, and Grayscale’s GBTC.

Joining the fray was US banking giant Wells Fargo, holding 2,245 shares of GBTC valued at $121,207.

At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $60,864 after seeing a 3.34% decline but still, there has been a notable shift among investors. 

More banks join in

In early April, Europe’s second-largest bank, BNP Paribas, purchased 1,030 IBIT shares for $41,684.10. In Q1 2024, each was priced at $40.47, significantly lower than the current value of a single Bitcoin.

Interestingly, just like Dimon, Sandro Pierri, Head of the fund management group BNP Paribas Asset Management, too refuted BTC’s potential back in September 2022 and said, 

“We are not involved in cryptocurrencies and we don’t want to be involved.” 

These developments signify a notable shift in the stance of several banks, indicating a growing interest and openness toward BTC as an investment vehicle.

The tides are turning

In January, J.P. Morgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon made a bold stance against Bitcoin [BTC] during a conversation on ‘Squawk Box’. He said, 

“There are cryptocurrencies that do something, that might have value. And then there’s one that does nothing, I call it pet rock. The Bitcoin, or something like that.” 

However, he did note, 

“It has some use cases. Everything else is people trading among themselves.”

Bitcoin: What are the metrics saying? 

An increase in cumulative spot BTC ETF volumes reinforced the confirmation, representing the total trading activities of spot BTC ETFs within a defined timeframe.

Source: The Block

The US House passed a bill to ease SEC guidelines, signaling the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies despite banks’ historical resistance to digital assets.

Elaborating on the same, the Biden Administration pledged to veto the legislation should it clear the Senate.

“Inappropriately constrain the SEC’s ability to ensure appropriate guardrails and address future issues related to crypto-assets including financial stability.”