JP Morgan launched a cryptocurrency, kind of. It’s a fiat-backed coin on a private blockchain (Ethereum based “Quorum”), backed by its own reserves, for use by its customers to settle payments. Basically, if JPM Customer A wants to send $100 to JPM Customer B, they can now send that money and have it settle instantaneously rather than wait the standard 2 days or so. Behind the scenes, JPM Customer A deposits $100 dollars for 100 JPM Coins, sends those 100 JPM Coins to JPM Customer B, and if JPM Customer B wants, they can redeem those 100 JPM Coins for $100.
There’s not a ton of info out there but you should start with JPM’s FAQ and some thoughts from the ex-lead of JPM’s Blockchain Group.
Crypto people are all over the place in their reactions to this news. Some people think it will kill Bitcoin, some think it will kill Ripple, some are just frustrated that something clearly operated by JP Morgan is co-opting the language of “open and permissionless” cryptocurrencies. Others think this will be hugely beneficial for overall adoption or think it’s positive news for the technologies JPM Coin are built on (e.g. Ethereum).
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