Although JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon described Bitcoin as a "fraud", the bank now takes cryptocurrencies very seriously, recognizing that blockchain-based technology is a real threat to their future.
In the annual report of JPMorgan Chase, published on Tuesday afternoon, the bank considered cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as "risk factors" for their business for the first time, recognizing digital currencies as new forms of competition that could literally give a run to the bank.
"Both financial institutions and their non-bank competitors face the risk that the processing of payments and other services will be drastically altered by technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, which do not require intermediation," the bank wrote in the report.
He added that new technologies have forced the company to invest in the adaptation or modification of its products to attract and retain customers, and to compete with the new offers of the new technology companies, a trend that he expects to continue.
"Ongoing or increasing competition may press down the prices and rates of JPMorgan Chase products and services, or may cause JPMorgan Chase to lose market share," the report said.
The following week, JPMorgan Chase published the "Bitcoin Bible," a 71-page report on a broad spectrum of issues related to the main dominant cryptocurrencies.
In assessing the bank's current blockchain and cryptocurrency operations, its analysts concluded that "in our view, the opportunities for banks to use blockchain technologies to conduct business could have far-reaching implications for the sector."