Tradfi eyes crypto land grab after years of shunning sector

BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink once described bitcoin as an “index of money laundering”. Jamie Dimon, the boss of fellow traditional finance firm JPMorgan, went further, calling it variously a “hyped-up fraud” or a “pet rock”.

But seven years later, tradfi firms are starting to warm to the crypto world, capping a bumpy, 15‑year ride by the sector to gain the trust of Wall Street giants. The time is ripe for the biggest players in finance to step in.