JPMorganChase (JPM) – Get a Report has started offering banking services to Coinbase Inc.’s major bitcoin exchanges. and Gemini Trust Co., in a sign of Wall Street’s growing comfort in working with cryptocurrency companies.
According to people familiar with the issue cited by the Wall Street Journal, this is the first time that JPMorgan Chase has hired clients from the cryptocurrency world.
Coinbase is the largest bitcoin exchange in the United States with more than 30 million accounts, while Gemini, started by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has pushed for the industry to be adopted by regular customers and to receive regulatory approvals for cryptocurrency investments.
JPMorgan Chase primarily provides cash management services and looks after dollar-based transactions for customers of both companies in the US, according to Journal sources. It will also process wire transfers and deposits and withdrawals using an electronic money transfer system.
The cash transfer and management services will allow Coinbase and Gemini customers to move money between their cryptocurrency and traditional bank accounts.
Coinbase and Gemini have had to undergo a lengthy vetting process to gain JPMorgan approval, according to Journal sources. Both companies are regulated by several parties, with Gemini receiving a charter of trust from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), while Coinbase is registered as a money services business with the Financial Crime Enforcement Network and also has license for crypto businesses by the DFS.
The price of Bitcoin recently hit as high as $ 10,000, more than doubling since then, despite trading at around $ 8,800 on Tuesday morning.