Swiss banking giant UBS, with assets under management (AuM) of up to $7 trillion, is set to launch Bitcoin trading for some of its clients. This comes amid predictions that regulatory clarity and broader adoption could send the BTC price to as high as $200,000. 

UBS To Offer Bitcoin Trading To Some Wealth Clients

Bloomberg reported that UBS is planning to launch crypto trading for some of its wealth clients, starting with its private bank clients in Switzerland. The bank will reportedly begin by offering these clients the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum. At the same time, the crypto offering could further expand to clients in the Pacific-Asia region and the U.S.

The banking giant is currently in discussions with potential partners, and there is no clear timeline for when it could launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for clients. This move is said to be partly due to increased demand from wealth clients for crypto exposure. UBS also faces increased competition as other Wall Street giants are working to offer crypto trading. 

Morgan Stanley, in partnership with Zerohash, announced plans to launch crypto trading in the first half of this year, starting with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The banking giant may soon also be able to offer its crypto products, as it has filed with the SEC to launch spot BTC, ETH, and SOL ETFs. 

Furthermore, JPMorgan, another of UBS’ competitors, is considering offering crypto trading to institutional clients, although this plan is still in the early stages. The bank already accepts Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral from its clients. Last year, it also filed to offer BTC structured notes that will track the performance of the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF.

Can Bank’s Entry Trigger A BTC Rally To $200,000  

Kevin O’Leary predicted that Bitcoin could rally to between $150,000 and $200,000 this year, driven by the passage of the CLARITY Act. His prediction came just as White House Crypto Czar David Sacks said banks would fully enter crypto once the bill passes. As such, there is a possibility that BTC could reach this $200,000 psychological level in anticipation of the amount of new capital that could flow into BTC from these banks once the bill passes. 

BitMine’s Chairman, Tom Lee, also predicted during a CNBC interview that Bitcoin could reach between $200,000 and $250,000 this year, partly due to growing institutional adoption by Wall Street giants. Meanwhile, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said that a BTC rally to $200,000 is the “most obvious thing in the world” to him.

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $89,600, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

According to analysts at JPMorgan, crypto-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs), particularly for Bitcoin (BTC), are expected to see inflows in 2026 that will far exceed those from 2025. 

Led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the analysis highlights a significant trend where capital flowing into the crypto market through ETFs reached a record high of $130 billion last year, driven by a growing interest in digital asset treasuries (DATs).

DAT Companies Lead Crypto Inflows In 2025

Panigirtzoglou explained that the inflows observed in 2025 were largely attributed to Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs, which the analyst suggests were primarily fueled by retail investors, as well as Bitcoin acquisitions by DAT companies. 

In contrast, participation from institutional investors and hedge funds, as indicated by the buying activity in Bitcoin and Ethereum Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures, appeared to have declined compared to 2024. 

The analysts noted that over half of the total digital asset inflows in 2025, approximately $68 billion, came from DAT companies. Another $23 billion was attributed to formal strategies, marking a slight increase from $22 billion in Bitcoin buying from the previous year. 

Notably, other DATs acquired about $45 billion in digital assets, a significant rise from just $8 billion in 2024. However, most of these purchases occurred earlier in the year, and by October, the momentum in crypto buying from DATs had markedly decreased.

Crypto venture capital funding also contributed to the overall capital flows, though this area remained substantially lower than the peaks experienced in 2021 and 2022. 

While total crypto venture capital funding saw a modest increase in 2025 compared to 2024, the number of deals declined sharply, and investment activity became increasingly concentrated in later-stage funding rounds. 

JPMorgan further suggested that this muted growth in venture funding was, in part, due to the increasing allocation of capital toward DATs. Funds that might have otherwise been directed to early-stage startups were increasingly diverted toward treasury strategies that provide immediate liquidity.

Regulatory Changes Anticipated To Boost Institutional Interest 

Looking forward, the analysts expect a rebound in institutional crypto flows in 2026, which could be spurred by the anticipated passage of additional regulatory measures, such as the Crypto Market Structure Bill (CLARITY Act) in the US. 

This anticipated legislation is expected to further entrench institutional adoption of digital assets, along with renewed institutional engagement in areas like venture capital funding, mergers and acquisitions, and initial public offerings (IPOs). 

However, the expected markup of this bill has been delayed late on Wednesday, as crypto industry leaders, including the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN), have withdrawn their support for the legislation. 

This is attributed to issues related to key provisions, which the firm’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, has described as making this version “materially worse than the current status quo”.

At the time of writing, the market’s leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was trading at $96,050, having recorded gains of 10% over the previous fourteen days, as broader inflows have already returned to the market since the beginning of the year. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

The law firm Fried Frank seems to be informing high-profile clients about a recent data security incident. 

The post After Goldman, JPMorgan Discloses Law Firm Data Breach appeared first on SecurityWeek.

Bitcoin Magazine

JPMorgan Weighs Bitcoin Trading for Institutional Clients

JPMorgan Chase is weighing whether to offer bitcoin trading services to institutional clients, according to a Bloomberg report citing a person familiar with the matter.

The largest U.S. bank by assets is assessing potential products that could include spot bitcoin trading and derivatives within its markets division. The discussions remain preliminary, and no decision has been made to launch the services, the report said.

Any move would depend on several factors, including client demand, internal risk assessments, and whether the bank can structure offerings that fit within existing regulatory frameworks. JPMorgan has not commented publicly on the report.

The internal review reflects growing interest among large investors for access to digital asset markets through established financial institutions. Hedge funds, asset managers, and pension funds increasingly seek trading venues that align with their compliance, governance, and execution requirements. 

Institutional clients often prioritize balance sheet strength, operational resilience, and regulated market access when trading new asset classes. For some firms, those requirements narrow the range of acceptable counterparties, even as liquidity in crypto markets has expanded.

Scott Lucas, who leads digital assets for JPMorgan’s markets division, said in an interview earlier this year that the bank planned to pursue trading activities tied to digital assets but did not intend to provide custody services. That approach would mirror how some banks engage with commodities and other non-traditional assets.

JPMorgan analysts also recently said that bitcoin appears cheap relative to gold after a sharp October sell-off, with strategists pointing to upside potential toward $170,000.

JPMorgan is pivoting on bitcoin

The bank’s interest comes as regulatory conditions in the U.S. begin to shift. Market participants expect progress on federal digital asset legislation, while banking regulators have recently clarified that federally chartered banks may act as intermediaries in certain crypto-related activities. 

JPMorgan has expanded its engagement with blockchain technology over the past several years without embracing cryptocurrencies as a core asset class. The bank has worked on tokenization, on-chain settlement, and distributed ledger infrastructure. 

Earlier this year, it arranged the issuance and settlement of a short-term bond for Galaxy Digital using the Solana network.

The firm has also said it plans to allow institutional clients to use bitcoin and ether as collateral in lending arrangements, a step that acknowledges demand without committing to proprietary exposure.

A move into bitcoin trading would mark a further shift in tone for JPMorgan and its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, who has long criticized bitcoin while maintaining that clients should be free to make their own investment decisions.

JPMorgan would not be alone among global banks reassessing crypto markets. Standard Chartered has launched spot trading for bitcoin and ether through its U.K. operations, while Goldman Sachs continues to operate a crypto derivatives desk. 

This post JPMorgan Weighs Bitcoin Trading for Institutional Clients first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Craters to $88,000, But JPMorgan Maintains $170,000 Target

Bitcoin price plunged to $88,000s on Friday, down over 4% in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency is trading near its seven-day low of $88,091, and about 4% below its seven-day high of $92,805. 

The global market capitalization for Bitcoin now stands at $1.77 trillion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $48 billion.

Despite the recent drop, Wall Street bank JPMorgan remains bullish on the Bitcoin price over the long term. The bank continues to maintain its gold-linked volatility-adjusted BTC target of $170,000 over the next six to twelve months. 

Analysts say the model accounts for fluctuations in price and mining costs.

One key factor in the market is Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate Bitcoin holder. The company owns 650,000 BTC. Its enterprise-value-to-Bitcoin-holdings ratio, known as mNAV, currently stands at 1.13. 

JPMorgan analysts describe this as “encouraging.” A ratio above 1.0 indicates Strategy is unlikely to face forced sales of its Bitcoin.

JUST IN: JPMorgan says it is sticking to its Bitcoin vs gold model target, which would see BTC hit $170,000 over the next year pic.twitter.com/PNt9ojpBRv

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) December 5, 2025

Strategy has also built a $1.44 billion U.S. dollar reserve. The reserve is designed to cover dividend payments and interest obligations for at least 12 months. The company aims to extend coverage to 24 months. 

Bitcoin mining pressure

Mining pressures continue to weigh on Bitcoin. The network’s hashrate and mining difficulty have fallen. High-cost miners outside China are retreating due to rising electricity costs and declining prices. Some miners have sold Bitcoin to remain solvent. 

JPMorgan now estimates Bitcoin’s production cost at $90,000, down from $94,000 last month. Falling hashrates can push production costs lower, but the short-term effect is sustained selling pressure from miners.

Institutional investors also show caution. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, has recorded six consecutive weeks of net outflows. Investors pulled more than $2.8 billion from the ETF over this period, according to Bloomberg.

The withdrawals highlight subdued appetite among traditional investors, even as Bitcoin prices stabilize. Analysts note that the trend marks a reversal from the persistent inflows seen earlier in the year.

The broader market is still recovering from the October 10 liquidation event. That crash wiped out over $1 trillion in crypto market value and pushed Bitcoin into a bear market.

Although the Bitcoin price has recovered some ground this week, momentum remains fragile.

JPMorgan analysts now say Bitcoin’s next major move depends less on miner behavior. Instead, it depends on Strategy’s ability to hold its Bitcoin without selling. The mNAV ratio and reserve fund provide confidence that the company can weather market volatility.

Other potential catalysts remain. The MSCI index decision on January 15 could impact Strategy’s stock and, indirectly, Bitcoin. Analysts say a positive outcome could trigger a strong rally.

Last week, Strategy’s Michael Saylor disputed MSCI index disputes and clarified that Strategy is a publicly traded operating company with a $500 million software business and a treasury strategy using Bitcoin, not a fund, trust, or holding company. 

He emphasized the firm’s recent activity, including five digital credit security offerings totaling over $7.7 billion in notional value.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin Magazine analysts believe that the bitcoin price correlation with Gold has recently strengthened mainly during market downturns, offering a clearer view of its purchasing power when analyzed against Gold instead of USD.

Breaking below the 350-day moving average (~$100,000) and the $100K psychological level signaled Bitcoin’s entry into a bear market, dropping roughly 20% immediately. 

While USD charts show a 2025 peak, Bitcoin measured in Gold peaked in December 2024 and has fallen over 50%, suggesting a longer bear phase. 

Historical Gold-based bear cycles indicate potential support zones approaching, with current declines at 51% over 350 days reflecting institutional adoption and constrained supply rather than cycle shifts.

For now, bitcoin price hovers near $88,000. 

This post Bitcoin Price Craters to $88,000, But JPMorgan Maintains $170,000 Target first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.