The news: JPMorgan Chase is considering offering cryptocurrency trading to its institutional clients. The service would be part of the bank’s markets business and could include both spot and derivatives trading.

This is a relatively big shift: JPMorgan has been reluctant to endorse crypto as a mainstream financial product and has instead invested in its underlying technology, like blockchain-based payments and deposit tokens.

Zoom out: Crypto markets still haven’t recovered from peaking and collapsing dramatically in October. Fluctuations aren’t necessarily a problem for traders, who profit from volatility. But crypto’s reputation as unstable may dampen enthusiasm among traditional financial institutions and interest among institutional investors. This makes the introduction of an institutional trading desk for crypto an expensive risk.

Our take: JPMorgan entering institutional crypto trading would be a major step toward the widespread legitimization of crypto as a trading asset.

Some big names in financial services are already there: Fidelity, for example, launched Fidelity Digital Assets in 2019 and recently added Solana to its digital assets offerings, which already include Bitcoin and Ethereum trading and custody for US retail and institutional investors.