Author| Ivan Wu Shuo Blockchain
In Singapore's payment circles, a thought-provoking saying circulates: "An MPI is worth ten million, a JPM account is worth a hundred million." This is not an exaggerated metaphor but a true portrayal of JPMorgan Chase's position in the global financial system. For institutions attempting to operate in sensitive areas such as cross-border payments, virtual assets, and stablecoins, JPMorgan Chase is not only the main gateway to the dollar system but also an iron gate that measures compliance and capability.
Brian Armstrong, the founder of Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, once bluntly stated that the key factor enabling the company to reach where it is today is not technology, user growth, or regulatory environment, but having a strong banking partner—JPMorgan Chase. Since 2020, JPMorgan Chase has become Coinbase's core bank. This relationship not only opened the dollar channel for it but also endorsed its "legitimacy" in the eyes of traditional finance in terms of compliance and credibility. Against the backdrop of the entire crypto industry struggling with being marginalized by the banking system, such cooperation is undoubtedly a scarce pass.
However, JPMorgan Chase has never been friendly towards Bitcoin. Jamie Dimon, the current CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has been one of the most尖锐的 critics of cryptocurrency for years. He once called Bitcoin a "fraud," emphasized its primary use in illegal transactions, and publicly stated that he "would never buy Bitcoin." Even as Wall Street giants like BlackRock gradually embrace Bitcoin ETFs, Dimon still maintains a negative stance. Bitcoin's decentralized philosophy clearly constitutes a fundamental confrontation with the dollar-centric system represented by JPMorgan Chase.
This article will focus on the financial behemoth that is JPMorgan Chase, starting from its legendary birth and expansion,梳理 how it step by step became the execution hub of the global dollar system, a symbol of the "temple-level bank," and its complex role in the modern crypto world. Through key cases such as Coinbase, Tether, stablecoins, and cross-border clearing networks, we will attempt to answer a core question that runs through financial history and on-chain reality: In this new era shaped by decentralization and power games, who exactly is JPMorgan Chase?
I. The Legendary History of JPMorgan Chase: From Railroad Czar to Financial Savior
John Pierpont Morgan (J.P. Morgan) was born in 1837, a typical heir to a banking family "born with a silver spoon." But what truly made him a legend in financial history was not his birth but his reshaping of the American economic system from the late 19th to the early 20th century. Starting in 1871, he began large-scale consolidation of the American railroad system—the nation's most important economic lifeline at the time, which was on the verge of collapse due to duplicate construction and management chaos. Using capital as a knife, Morgan重组 and merged the messy railroad enterprises. By the end of the 19th century, one-third of American railroads were under his capital control. He thus won the title "Railroad Czar," not only主导 the rebirth of an industry but also setting a precedent for private financial capital to reshape national infrastructure.
This ability to place private power above national structure was even more evident during the financial crisis of 1893 to 1895. At that time, the U.S. Treasury's gold reserves were nearly depleted, Congress failed to issue additional bonds, and the country was on the brink of a credit system collapse. At this critical moment, Morgan consortium, together with European banking consortiums,自行筹措 a $65 million gold loan to inject into the Treasury, preventing a systemic default for the United States. This was a "lifesaving money" from private to national. Since then, a saying that still astonishes people has circulated on Wall Street: "If the United States were a company, Morgan would be its CEO." This is not only recognition of his financial power but also the ultimate affirmation of his operational ability—Morgan's financial power had surpassed the state machinery itself.
His capital operation ability also reached its peak in 1901. This year, steel magnate Carnegie decided to retire. Morgan acquired Carnegie Steel for $480 million in cash and integrated it with several other steel companies to form U.S. Steel—the first company in human history with a market capitalization exceeding one billion dollars. This was not only a century merger but also marked the formal replacement of industrialists by financial capital as the highest power layer of the American economy. Morgan was no longer just the helmsman of railroads and banks; he had become the actual master of American industrial capital.
And when the New York banking system once again fell into a chain of bankruptcy panic in 1907, the government was again powerless to respond, and Morgan once again stepped forward. He locked the major Wall Street bankers in his library for a full fourteen hours, forcing everyone to reach a joint funding rescue agreement, which eventually平息 the market turmoil. This event became a milestone in American history where private financial power最后一次全面主导 systemic crisis response—people began to realize that the fate of the entire country could no longer be guaranteed by a single banker. Six years later, the Federal Reserve was established. It can be said that Morgan was not only the highest embodiment of the old order but also the catalyst for the forced birth of the new order.
II. The Temple of Banking: JPMorgan Chase's Position in the Modern Global Financial System
If J.P. Morgan was a financial giant who reshaped the national economic order with personal capital in the early 20th century, then JPMorgan Chase today occupies the "temple position" in the global financial system as an institution. This bank is not only a symbol of Wall Street but also one of the infrastructures of world capital flow. As of now, JPMorgan Chase's total assets exceed three trillion dollars, ranking first in the United States and仅次于 only a few state-owned mega-banks globally. Such a scale means not only that it is a "behemoth" but also that it has become a pillar-level existence in the entire dollar financial system.
The core of JPMorgan Chase's power lies in its control of the global dollar clearing network. At the level of cross-border payments and international settlement, this bank has become an irreplaceable hub. Data shows that the amount of clearing payments processed by JPMorgan Chase daily exceeds 10 trillion dollars, accounting for nearly 30% of the global dollar clearing market. This is not only a reflection of technical capability but also the result of the global trust system's endorsement. From ACH to Fedwire, from SWIFT to various localized financial infrastructures, JPMorgan Chase has single-handedly built the main artery of global dollar circulation, making the cross-border financial business of countless countries unable to bypass its clearing network. This also means: mastering JPMorgan Chase means mastering the flow right of the dollar.
But such a vast network is not without thresholds. JPMorgan Chase's requirements for compliance and risk control are堪称 "global gold standards." Its account opening review process is so strict that it is often called the financial version of the "ladder to heaven" by the industry. Only institutions with clear backgrounds, clean capital structures, and KYC and anti-money laundering mechanisms that can withstand scrutiny have the opportunity to become its customers. Therefore, successfully opening a JPMorgan Chase account is not only a functional convenience but also a credit pass—it symbolizes that you have won the recognition of the world's strictest bank and been纳入 the core financial trust layer.
This highly centralized yet层层筛选 structure makes JPMorgan Chase an existence近似 "national-level infrastructure" in the global financial system. "JPMorgan Chase is to the dollar finance what the power grid and water supply system are to a city—the prerequisite for all modern activities." It is not only the main underwriter of U.S. Treasury bond issuances but also a key liquidity intermediary in the Federal Reserve system. It not only serves the market but also serves the national will. At certain moments, it can even influence the stability and direction of international finance more than the central banks of some small and medium-sized countries. JPMorgan Chase is not just a bank; it is the execution hub of the dollar world order.
III. The Enforcer of Dollar Hegemony: How JPMorgan Chase Influences the Global Dollar System
If the Federal Reserve is the designer and rule-maker of the global dollar system, then JPMorgan Chase is the most powerful executor of this system—it not only executes the rules but also embodies and落地 these rules through its vast network, even amplifying their actual impact globally. As a primary dealer in the U.S. bond market, JPMorgan Chase daily participates in the Federal Reserve System's open market operations, assists in managing short-term liquidity, and undertakes a large number of U.S. bond issuance and distribution tasks through its investment banking department. In this架构, JPMorgan Chase's role is both an operational ally of U.S. fiscal policy and the muscle of the dollar's international influence. It not only transmits policy but also constructs the infrastructure on which dollar hegemony relies.
The most intuitive scenario体现 this "enforcer" identity is cross-border dollar clearing. In today's financial world, almost all large-scale international dollar transactions cannot bypass clearing giants like JPMorgan Chase. Dollar settlements conducted by enterprises, institutions, and even central banks usually must pass through large U.S. commercial banks—and JPMorgan Chase is the most critical node among them. This not only brings technical and efficiency advantages but also赋予 JPMorgan Chase and its home country enormous geo-financial power. When the United States imposes financial sanctions on a certain country or institution, one of the most common practices is to "cut off its dollar clearing ability," and JPMorgan Chase is the direct executor and amplifier of this policy. Once剔除 from JPMorgan Chase's network, it means losing the connection right to the global mainstream financial system.
Therefore, for financial institutions worldwide, whether they can access JPMorgan Chase's network is not only about efficiency and cost but also about the boundary of "financial sovereignty." If a payment institution can open a JPMorgan Chase account, it means it has obtained the core endorsement of the dollar system; once excluded, it may be forced to turn to marginal markets or secondary networks. This layered structure strengthens the hierarchical system of dollar hegemony and makes JPMorgan Chase the most operational power link on its chain.
At critical moments, JPMorgan Chase's "system status" is also体现 as a stabilizer. During the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, it took over Bear Stearns in crisis, helping to阻断 the spread; during the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse风波, JPMorgan Chase once again stepped in to acquire First Republic Bank's assets, becoming a key force in stabilizing market expectations. This "white knight" behavior, though包含 commercial motives, also highlights JPMorgan Chase's responsible position in the dollar financial system: it is not only the top beneficiary of the interest structure but also the guarantor of system stability. In this network of dollar hegemony woven by system and power, JPMorgan Chase is a sharp sword—and also a shield preventing system collapse.
IV. JPMorgan Chase and the Crypto World: Coexistence of Cooperation and Hostility
In the crypto world, having a JPMorgan Chase bank account is almost equivalent to obtaining an "admission ticket" to the global mainstream financial system. For any institution engaged in cross-border payments, crypto asset custody, stablecoin clearing, and other businesses, such an account means not only high-efficiency dollar clearing capability but also an endorsement of compliance credibility. Especially against the backdrop of increasingly strict regulations and traditional banks普遍持观望甚至敌意态度 towards crypto enterprises, JPMorgan Chase's basic stance towards such customers has always been "default rejection." Therefore, when the Singapore industry流传 the joke "An MPI is worth ten million, a JPM account is worth a hundred million," it reflects not only the scarcity of JPMorgan Chase's resources but also the structural困境 the entire crypto industry faces when对接 with the traditional financial system.
Coinbase's success is a typical case among the very few "breaking the circle" cases. As the most representative compliant exchange in the United States, Coinbase's ability to smoothly access the fiat channel, complete an IPO, and win the trust of mainstream investors relies on a整套 financial infrastructure deeply捆绑 with the banking system, and JPMorgan Chase is a key role therein. Since 2020, JPMorgan Chase began providing banking services to highly scrutinized exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini. This move was seen as a major signal released by traditional finance to the crypto field at the time. Coinbase co-founder Brian Armstrong clearly stated: one of the company's biggest early breakthroughs was winning the cooperation of large banks. "Without a bank account, we simply couldn't provide deposit services, let alone expand our business." On Coinbase's growth curve, JPMorgan Chase's underpinning role cannot be ignored.
However, this does not mean that JPMorgan Chase has "accepted" the crypto industry. On the contrary, its posture has always been cautious and with boundaries. JPMorgan Chase has an internal crypto business review committee that strictly evaluates potential customers' governance structures, fund sources, and compliance risks. Only a few institutions that meet its standards are eligible for services. More importantly, its support targets are often limited to companies that already deeply cooperate with regulators and have highly transparent business. Once a company's business model involves anonymous transactions, off-chain arbitrage, or touches areas that are "decentralized and无法监管," JPMorgan Chase will果断划清界限. This is not ignorance of technology but active avoidance of systemic risks. JPMorgan Chase is not opposed to technological innovation, but it pays more attention to order stability.
This order-maintaining stance is particularly evident in JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon is perhaps one of the most hostile leading figures on Wall Street towards Bitcoin. He has publicly criticized Bitcoin on multiple occasions as a "fraud," "a meaningless speculative tool," and linked it to illegal transactions and terrorist financing. Even in the atmosphere where giants like BlackRock and Fidelity have successively launched Bitcoin ETFs and even the U.S. government has begun to discuss "moderate regulation," Dimon still强硬表态: "I will never buy Bitcoin." His attitude does not stem from conservatism but from a deep understanding of the system he is in. The peer-to-peer, intermediary-free, non-censorship value transfer path that cryptocurrency aims to achieve恰恰绕开了 the financial central structure on which JPMorgan Chase relies for survival.
In the final analysis, the hostility between JPMorgan Chase and the crypto industry is not simply a battle of ideas but a fundamental conflict at the system level. One side is a financial behemoth with regulation and clearing networks at its core, relying on centralized trust and national credit; the other side is a crypto network advocating censorship resistance, self-custody, and permissionless innovation. In a sense, this game has no right or wrong; it is a natural collision of two paradigms. JPMorgan Chase may accept some "intermediate state" cooperation, such as regulated stablecoin issuers, on-chain payment settlement enterprises, etc., but it will never truly welcome decentralized "alternatives." Because the ultimate direction of those solutions is to抽离 the financial world from the banking system, and this is the future that JPMorgan Chase最不愿看到.
V. Tether and USDT: JPMorgan Chase's "Shadow Rival"
In the traditional financial system, the cross-border flow of dollars must rely on "central banks" represented by JPMorgan Chase to complete clearing and settlement. But since the birth of stablecoins, this pattern has begun to loosen quietly. Stablecoins, especially USDT issued by Tether, have built a de-banked parallel universe for the dollar on the chain: no bank account, no SWIFT network, no compliance license is needed; users only need a blockchain address to complete cross-border dollar transfers. In this system, the flow path of dollars is no longer dominated by banks like JPMorgan Chase but is written into smart contracts,穿梭于 global exchanges, wallets, and DeFi protocols, circulating in an extremely efficient and low-threshold manner. This change, from the perspective of the crypto industry, is almost a transfer of "monetary network sovereignty," and Tether has become the clearing core in this new system.
Tether's operating logic is惊人相似 to JPMorgan Chase's role in the banking system. JPMorgan Chase handles trillions of cross-border dollar transactions annually, relying on a整套 global Correspondent Banking system, establishing a high-barrier, high-trust financial intermediary position in compliance review, clearing execution, reserve management, and other links. Although Tether is not纳入 mainstream financial regulation, it has also built a dollar流动 system on the blockchain through "reserve asset custody + stablecoin issuance": global exchanges regard it as the main pricing and settlement unit, users complete fund transfers through USDT, on-chain protocols use it as the liquidity core, and even some gray-area economic activities are settled in USDT. This makes Tether, in a sense, the "central bank of crypto dollars" or a "shadow JPMorgan Chase" that bypasses the banking system.
JPMorgan Chase自然不会对此无动于衷. Although CEO Dimon has an overall negative attitude towards cryptocurrency, JPMorgan Chase's research and technology teams have long begun to lay out feasible paths for the digital dollar. The JPM Coin launched in 2019 is a blockchain clearing token designed for institutional clients. Its underlying is supported by U.S. dollar assets托管 by JPMorgan Chase itself and is specifically used for account clearing between clients. More importantly, it also launched the ONYX blockchain project, hoping to build a整套 de-intermediated platform suitable for interbank payments. This indicates that although JPMorgan Chase is wary of the systemic risks of stablecoins, it is also absorbing their technical advantages in its own way, trying to bring "dollars on the blockchain" back into the jurisdiction of traditional finance.
In contrast, Tether operates outside sovereign regulation. Although it is located in the British Virgin Islands, its business is global, especially widely adopted in emerging markets and regulatory gray areas. In regions like Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, USDT often becomes a financial haven for people to hedge against local currency depreciation and escape restrictions under capital controls. Because of this, it is often seen as a challenger to U.S. financial regulation. What is more headache for the traditional banking system is that USDT can complete fund transfers without the need for channels like SWIFT and Fedwire, thereby partially削弱 the United States' ability to审查 cross-border capital flows and also reducing the intermediary value of clearing giants like JPMorgan Chase.
For JPMorgan Chase, Tether's existence is both a challenge and a mirror: it replicates its clearing structure, dollar endorsement logic, and global circulation network but operates in a system it cannot directly control. From regulatory arbitrage to capital migration, from gray clearing to blurred financial sovereignty, Tether brings a decentralized dollar alternative that is "unauditable, unfreezable, and unrestrictable." In this sense, Tether is precisely the "shadow rival" that JPMorgan Chase cannot ignore—it does not confront it head-on in the capital market like Goldman Sachs, nor does it compete with it in the asset management field like BlackRock, but quietly builds a settlement架构对等 to JPMorgan Chase in another parallel world.
Will the future dominance of dollar clearing remain firmly in the hands of financial temples like JPMorgan Chase, or will it gradually shift to new on-chain structures? This question is becoming one of the cores of financial gaming in the digital age.
