CoinDesk broke the news earlier today.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), which is led by bitcoin-sceptic CEO Jamie Dimon, is now offering an in-house bitcoin fund to clients at its Private Banking unit, CoinDesk reported. The big-four US bank is said to have partnered with New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) for the fund.

CoinDesk was told by people familiar with the matter that the bank had informed advisers of the offering only yesterday, and the fund had no assets as yet. JPMorgan was said to be pitching its bitcoin fund as the safest and cheapest route available in the private markets to invest in bitcoin.

A source also hinted that the bank’s private bitcoin fund could later convert to a bitcoin ETF in the event the SEC started approving crypto ETFs.

Though CEO Dimon has on occasions been critical of bitcoin, of late he has acknowledged client interest in cryptos and said the bank would work to make them investible safely.

JPMorgan: Crypto adoption inevitable?

JPMorgan appears to have finally accepted that cryptos are here to stay and reworked its strategy accordingly. Meanwhile, large corporations are taking steps to offer crypto-related products and services to their customers.

PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) already allows its users to pay with cryptocurrencies.

Visa (NYSE: V) supports cards issued by organizations such as BlockFi and Salt Lending for paying with cryptos.

“We’re partnering with 50 of the leading crypto platforms on card programs that make it easy to convert and spend digital currency at 70 million merchants worldwide,” Visa said last month. “With more than $1 billion spent on crypto-linked Visa cards in the first half of 2021, it’s clear that the crypto community sees value in linking digital currencies to Visa’s global network.”

Earlier this week, NCR (NYSE: NCR), the software and device provider for payments with a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, announced its acquisition of Libertyx, America’s first and largest U.S. network of bitcoin ATMs, cashiers and kiosks with thousands of locations across 44 states nationwide.

Related Story:  Eyeing The Crypto Space, NCR Buys Bitcoin ATM Provider Libertyx

Image of Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase: Wikimedia