Millions of Chase customers will soon be able to directly link their accounts to Coinbase wallets, making it easier than ever for huge swathes of Americans to buy crypto.
From next year, the strategic partnership will see Chase customers able to seamlessly link their bank accounts to Coinbase wallets via a JPMorgan API, which the bank says will ensure security and privacy.
Chase customers will also be able to transfer their rewards points to their Coinbase account at one-to-one redemption ratio (100 points equals $1.00 in redemption value) to fund their crypto wallet. And, from the autumn, customers will have the ability to fund their Coinbase accounts using Chase credit cards.
“This partnership marks a significant step forward in empowering our customers to take control of their financial futures,” says Melissa Feldsher, head, payments and lending innovation, JPMorganChase. “By joining forces with Coinbase, we are enhancing the security and privacy of our customers' data, allowing them to use their money and rewards in new and exciting ways."
The agreement marks another major step in crypto's march into the mainstream. Just two years ago, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said he would shut down the whole sector, but by this May he had modified his position, promising to let clients buy Bitcoin, telling investors: “I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy bitcoin.”
The bank is also reportedly considering lending against its clients' cryptocurrency holdings and has begun making stablecoin moves, unveiling plans for a deposit token, called JPMD that would serve as a digital representation of a commercial bank deposit.