As the crypto industry grows, cryptocurrencies are also becoming increasingly popular among institutional investors. But it takes a long time for large retailers to become interested in the industry. According to the world’s largest bank, JP Morgan, few institutional traders are interested in blockchain.
Interest in blockchain will decline significantly by 2024
At the beginning of each year, the banking giant explains in the “e-Trading Edit” survey what traders are interested in for the coming year. This year, it conducted the survey among more than 4,000 institutional traders. 78% of this group do not plan to trade cryptocurrencies in the coming year. In 2023, this proportion was still 72%.
It’s not clear if this means they don’t own any crypto at all, even in the longer term. It also appears that only 7% believe blockchain will be the most important new technology for the world of asset trading in the next three years. According to 61% of respondents, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning would be significantly more important for retailers.
It is noteworthy that interest in blockchain technology was significantly greater in the previous two years, when the same percentage was 12% and 25%. The only metric that grew was the proportion of investors already trading cryptocurrencies. While that was 8% in 2023, it is now 9%. Additionally, 12% expect to start trading cryptocurrencies this year.
JP Morgan CEO Dimon remains critical of cryptocurrencies
The investment bank is therefore conducting research into the crypto and blockchain industry. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, is an outspoken cryptocurrency skeptic. For example, he recently called Bitcoin (BTC) a Ponzi scam and a “sweetheart.” The CEO even believes that Bitcoin will disappear once all coins are mined.
However, this will probably take a while, more precisely until the year 2140. At the same time, the company is satisfied with the blockchain technology that it is already using. Bitcoin price rose sharply towards the end of last year. Analysts at JP Morgan then said the increase was partly due to large traders.