In what seemed like a considerable endorsement, of the kind that puts your money where your hype may be, JP Morgan yesterday declared it was setting up to test its own cryptocurrency, called a JPM Coin. Or did it? MIT Tech Review 'Chain Letter', makes the case it did not. And then pulls back somewhat. Lots of useful background links in the article below, subscribe to it, follows the hype day by day.
What is in a word? Last week we talked about how we still lack an agreed-upon definition for the term “decentralized.” Next up: “cryptocurrency.” JPMorgan Chase revealed yesterday that it will soon conduct limited real-world tests of a homegrown digital currency. The blockchain-based token, called JPM Coin, will be used to settle payments between the bank’s big money clients, who will be able to redeem it for US dollars at a 1:1 rate.
Language police were quick to arrive on the scene, however. “If JPM Coin is a cryptocurrency, then Facebook credits and World of Warcraft money are cryptocurrencies,” Jerry Brito of the blockchain-focused policy group Coin Center told Motherboard. The article’s headline reads: “Don’t call JPMorgan Chase’s new JPM Coin a cryptocurrency.” The Next Web agrees: “JPMorgan’s new digital ‘coin’ is not a cryptocurrency, or even a stablecoin.” (We haven’t agreed on what a “stablecoin” is either, but let’s put that aside for now.) ... "
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