The latest major bank in the US to recognize cryptocurrency as an asset class is JPMorgan Chase, which is ready to offer certain clients an actively managed Bitcoin fund, writes Coindesk.

JPMorgan’s actively managed Bitcoin fund could launch as early as this summer, with NYDIG serving as JPMorgan’s custodian as the institutional Bitcoin store.

Active Bitcoin fund management is a marked departure from the classic passive fee offered by crypto industry stalwarts like Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital, which allow their wealthy clients to buy and hold Bitcoin in funds without ever touching them. It is known that the fund will be intended for clients from the private sector.

Note that if earlier, in 2017, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called Bitcoin a dangerous scam and even threatened to “instantly fire” any trader who touched Bitcoins, now he has abandoned the use of the “fraud” label and softened his rhetoric.

Despite personal opposition to the cryptocurrency bank’s CEO, his top deputies in corporate and investment banking were forced to admit in February that customer demand for digital assets could force the bank to make adjustments.

JPMorgan’s huge investment, commercial banking and wealth management divisions have gradually changed their approach to cryptocurrency and blockchain. In particular, the bank’s analysts regularly publish market data on the price and prospects of Bitcoin in reports available to clients.

The bank created a division called Onyx, designed to speed up interbank payments using blockchain technology. After 5 years of development, Onyx has launched a global hiring campaign for blockchain engineers.

On the investment banking side, in March JPMorgan released its first cryptocurrency-adjacent investment product, a structured note tied to the performance of Bitcoin proxy stocks such as MicroStrategy and Riot Blockchain. At the same time, the new JPMorgan fund will be the first to directly depend on the movements of Bitcoin.