JP Morgan opens cryptolab in Athens as part of Blockchain Push
As the crypto industry evolves, top players in the traditional financial industry have begun to join the trend via various projects. A recent one report revealed that JP Morgan plans to open a crypto lab in Athens. According to StockWatch’s report, the laboratory will focus on data encryption and security.
JP Morgan Chase is one of the largest American banks. Apart from its regular banking services, JP Morgan also offers institutional research on economics, financial markets, personal finance, etc.
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An innovation laboratory in Athens
The head of JP Morgan’s decentralized financial platform Onyx announced the new crypto lab in Athens. According to Tyrone Lobbamthe initial focus will be on building blockchain-related capabilities to support Onyx.
Onyx is a platform that facilitates the transfer and clearing of money in multi-currency and multi-bank ledgers. JP Morgan Chase formed the DeFi platform in 2020 to handle payment transactions on digital solutions.
In Lobbam’s statement, the new laboratory has four engineering roles; two full-stack developers, a technical manager for launch and an engineer for mobile apps. These engineers will focus on three main areas: cryptography, distributed ledger technology and artificial intelligence.
The mobile app engineer will also work on digital identity mobile apps and wallet prototypes based on the blockchain. According to Lobban, digital identity facilitates scaling for web3 and enables new services and interactions for both web2 and web3.
JP Morgan Chase’s crypto exploits
The American bank started its crypto journey in 2022 when it bought the “JP Morgan Wallet” trademark. The announcement was published on November 21, 2022, and enabled the old bank to offer its customers bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto-related services.
Following the announcement, US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) attorney Mike Kondoudis stated that the license would allow the top bank to offer virtual currency transfer and exchange, virtual current accounts, crypto payment processing and other financial services.
This means that JP Morgan can process crypto payments through cash and credit cards. The bank can also process cross-border payments by handling currency settlements in many currencies.
2 November 2022, That was reported by Bloomberg that JP Morgan completed its first cross-border DeFi transaction on a public blockchain. Other notable moves the bank has made in crypto include its partnerships with New York Bank Mellon and Fidelity bank to offer various crypto-related services.
Notably, JP Morgan’s CEO was strongly against crypto even as the bank explored opportunities in blockchain and crypto. In October 2021, the CEO declared that bitcoin is worthless and continued to show skepticism about crypto. But despite this, the bank continues to push into the sector in an attempt to satisfy its customers.
Featured image from Pixabay and chart from TradingView.com
