JPMorgan Buys Bitcoin-Bullish WePay in ‘Rare’ Fintech Move

Unpredictable global banking giant JPMorgan has bought up payment network WePay in a “rare” fintech acquisition.

The move is aimed at JPMorgan’s four million business customers which it wants to be able to accept payments “faster,” Bloomberg reports.

The bank has made headlines several times over the past month after its CEO Jamie Dimon called Bitcoin a “fraud,” only to U-turn on his comments and “not talk about Bitcoin anymore.” At the same time, senior executive said the company was “open-minded” on cryptocurrency and Blockchain.

WePay has hinted at a markedly different stance, CEO Bill Clerico saying he was “bullish on Bitcoin” as far back as 2014.

“As a protocol it will survive & as the tools in payments evolve it will grow,” he tweeted.

Q: Bitcoin real or not?A: @billclerico I’m bullish on Bitcoin. As a protocol it will survive & as the tools in payments evolve it will grow. — WePay (@WePay) June 11, 2014

“This is the first acquisition we’ve brought of this kind,” Bloomberg meanwhile quotes JPMorgan merchant services CEO Matt Kane as saying.

“Small business across JPMorgan is an enormous strategic focus for us. We know it’s the lifeblood of the economy as well as one of the biggest growth sectors that we have.”

The move comes the same week as IBM announced it was using Stellar for its Blockchain-based international payments solution, something which has piqued the interest of major banking players.