In brief
- JP Morgan Chase has proposed a new leveraged product allowing investors to bet on the future price of Bitcoin via BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.
- If approved, investors could make 1.5x whatever gains the cryptocurrency makes.
- But, as with all leveraged products, losses could be compounded if Bitcoin’s price crashes.
JPMorgan Chase has filed with regulators for a leveraged product that would allow investors to bet on the future price of Bitcoin—and potentially earn “uncapped” returns if the price of BTC falls by late next year but then soars by 2028.
A Monday filing with the SEC from the top bank shows that the proposed leveraged product, in the form of a structured note, would allow investors to bet big on the leading cryptocurrency via BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund.
This financial instrument has some quirks, however. According to the prospectus, if the price of the Bitcoin ETF is equal to or above the set price by December 21, 2026, then JPM will call the notes, providing a payment of at least $160 per note (priced at $1,000 apiece). But if the price is below that mark in a year’s time, then the notes will keep riding until 2028.
In that case—if the product is approved by the SEC, of course—investors would be able to earn 1.5x returns on whatever gains the cryptocurrency makes by the year 2028, potentially clearing the way for massive rewards. JPMorgan called the potential return “uncapped,” which means if Bitcoin soars to new highs by 2028 (which means the ETF share price would follow suit), then the amplified gains could be sizable indeed.
But if Bitcoin’s price crashes hard—by 40% or more—then investors would lose a substantial portion of their initial investment, according to the filing. Big risk, big reward… or loss.
“Bitcoin has historically exhibited high price volatility relative to more traditional asset classes and has experienced extreme volatility in recent periods and may continue to do so, which may increase the volatility of the fund,” the filing notes.
Bloomberg ETF Analyst James Seyffart told Decrypt that it’s “very common for banks to do these sorts of things on pretty much any asset you can think of.”
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust is the most popular of the BTC ETFs that the SEC approved and allowed to start trading last year. The fund currently manages $69 billion in assets.
JPMorgan’s product is the latest in a long-list of leveraged funds tied to the performance of digital coins and tokens.
Over the past couple of years, ETFs that hold debt to amplify their position have hit the markets. With such products, returns for investors can be greater than the tracked asset’s gains—but losses can also be compounded too.
JPMorgan Chase is the biggest bank in the U.S. and has a complicated history with digital assets. Its CEO, Jamie Dimon, has long criticized Bitcoin, but praised blockchain—the underlying tech that powers Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies.
The bank in recent years has been more open to digital assets, and this month debuted a digital dollar deposit token using Coinbase’s Base network.
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