Despite chief executive Jamie Dimon recently calling Bitcoin «a Fraud» his bank has been routing customer orders for bitcoin-related instruments.
Along with other major Wall Street banks, J.P. Morgan acts as an agent for buyers and sellers of Bitcoin XBT, an exchange-traded note designed to track the value of the crypto currency.
J.P. Morgan's relationship with Bitcoin XBT came into question recently when the financial blog Zerohedge asked why the bank was involved with the trading after CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a fraud and said he would fire anyone at the bank who trades it.
JPMorgan does not take positions in the instrument with its own capital and routes the orders electronically to exchanges, J.P. Morgan spokesman Brian Marchiony said according to a report from «Reuters.»
Speaking at an investor conference the J.P. Morgan chief said If a J.P. Morgan trader began trading in bitcoin, «I’d fire them in a second. For two reasons: It’s against our rules, and they’re stupid. And both are dangerous.»
