To sceptics, cryptocurrency is little more than a high-stakes gamble that serves no critical role in the UK’s financial system or daily life. You cannot fill up a car with Bitcoin, feed a family with XRP or finance hospitals with Ethereum. Infrastructure, healthcare and mortgages continue to depend on sterling, not digital tokens.
But a new partnership between one of the world’s largest banks and a major cryptocurrency exchange may finally push digital currency into the mainstream.
JPMorgan and Coinbase
Under a new deal with Coinbase, JPMorgan customers will soon be able to buy cryptocurrency directly with their credit cards. From next year, they will also be able to convert reward points into digital assets at a rate of 100 points per $1 (£0.75). This is the first time a major credit card loyalty programme has been tied directly to a crypto wallet – signalling a growing acceptance of digital assets in traditional finance.
“The JPMorgan-Coinbase partnership sets an important precedent,” says Thomas Brown, partner at Shoosmiths, a UK law firm. “It helps legitimise the sector and could reduce reputational risks that have long deterred traditional financial players.”
This is more than a corporate strategy; it’s a race to define the future of money
Brown, a former executive at Worldpay and PayPal, predicts this move will open the door for other blue-chip firms to explore crypto exposure, accelerating the integration of blockchain tools into everyday corporate banking.
State Street is another example of an established financial institution moving into crypto. The global asset manager recently began providing custody for tokenised debt instruments – traditional debt converted into digital tokens on a blockchain – enabling faster, cheaper and more transparent trading.
As the once-fringe assets gain traction, major players are clearly eager not to miss out on the crypto boom. Brown goes so far as to predict that “most UK high street banks will offer some form of crypto within the next two years”.
Crypto originally promised a future outside traditional finance. With major institutional backing, what might the change mean for the digital asset, banks, businesses and consumers?
De-risking crypto
Cryptocurrency has long been associated with illicit activity. But the entry of a major bank into the sector could help shift perceptions, making crypto appear safer and more legitimate.
The JPMorgan-Coinbase deal is evidence that consumer demand for accessible crypto continues to rise, both as a means of day-to-day payment and as an asset class for investing. So says Michael Healy, UK managing director at investment and trading platform, IG. “Innovation like this is critical,” he stresses. “However, it swims against the tide of the reality of financial infrastructure in the UK.”
Most UK high street banks will offer some form of crypto within the next two years
Many UK banks still adopt blanket bans on payments to crypto providers, with fraud prevention often cited as the reason. Healy argues such moves are “lazy and paternalistic”. Crucially, outright bans do not reflect public opinion: more UK adults oppose banks blocking crypto (42%) than agree with it (33%), according to research published by IG. These findings suggest people want the freedom to decide how they manage their own money, not have those decisions made for them.
As crypto becomes more “normalised,” Brown anticipates that businesses will move beyond merely investing in crypto to actively transacting in it. Firms that adopt crypto payments early could appeal to younger, more tech-savvy customers and global partners who increasingly expect flexible payment options, he says.
Deep Shah is head of growth at Gnosis, a decentralised payment platform. He too believes JPMorgan and Coinbase are paving the way for more ambitious innovation in payments. “It shows crypto infrastructure has matured enough to meet bank-grade compliance, AML and KYC standards, while offering on-chain transparency that satisfies mainstream audit requirements,” Shah says.
This could lead to more auditable, regulated crypto products and the integration of blockchain into core payments and settlement systems. “If major banks are comfortable linking accounts with digital wallets, the prospect of on-chain cross-border settlement becomes far more realistic,” Shah says. Such a shift could dramatically cut costs and settlement times in the global payments industry, he continues, unlocking huge efficiencies for businesses that move money internationally.
The dangers and drawbacks
Yet experts warn that the growing involvement of large banks risks centralising what was meant to be a decentralised space, originally created to cut out middlemen, like banks, so that money and financial systems can be run directly on peer-to-peer networks.
“If big banks dominate the crypto market, independent platforms could be squeezed out, stifling competition and innovation,” Brown says. Centralising access through banks may also erode user privacy and control, he adds, with lenders free to exploit transaction data for their own purposes. Meanwhile, any market failures or crashes could trigger huge setbacks for corporations exploring blockchain.
Alessandro Hatami is the former COO of digital banking at Lloyds and founder of advisory firm Pacemakers. He warns that crypto is still highly volatile and regulation remains uneven across markets. Reflecting on the JPMorgan-Coinbase partnership, Hatami says: “A move like this may accelerate adoption, but it also exposes consumers and banks to new risks around fraud, anti-money laundering compliance and credit exposure.”
For traditional institutions, Hatami says the challenge will be to balance innovation with rigorous compliance and customer protection.
The race to shape the future of crypto
This shift is bigger than just banks and consumers. Governments are now moving to shape the rules of digital finance. In the US, Congress has passed a landmark law to regulate the $288bn (£215bn) stablecoin market. Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, stablecoins are pegged to assets such as the dollar or gold, making them more stable for everyday use and as a store of value.
In response, the Bank of England and EU are fast-tracking plans for a digital pound and digital euro, determined to keep their currencies relevant in an increasingly digital global economy.
Against this backdrop, Hatami notes: “The JPMorgan–Coinbase tie-up is more than just a corporate strategy; it is part of a broader race to define the future of money.”
The partnership is a clear step toward integrating crypto into mainstream finance – but it is still early days. The real test will be how regulators, central banks and financial institutions respond and whether these moves ultimately produce a system that is secure, inclusive and fit for the digital age.
To sceptics, cryptocurrency is little more than a high-stakes gamble that serves no critical role in the UK’s financial system or daily life. You cannot fill up a car with Bitcoin, feed a family with XRP or finance hospitals with Ethereum. Infrastructure, healthcare and mortgages continue to depend on sterling, not digital tokens.
But a new partnership between one of the world’s largest banks and a major cryptocurrency exchange may finally push digital currency into the mainstream.
