JPMorgan and Coinbase sign deal to let users link bank accounts to crypto wallets

JPMorgan and Coinbase have signed an agreement to let users link their bank accounts to crypto wallets directly, cutting out the middlemen that have been sitting between banks and crypto platforms for years.

The two companies announced the deal on Wednesday and said the new connection between Chase accounts and Coinbase wallets is expected to launch sometime in 2025. This deal gives Coinbase direct access to JPMorgan’s user data, something that used to require going through third-party data firms like Plaid, MX, or Akoya. With this, Coinbase can now pull that data straight from the source.

The announcement comes while JPMorgan is preparing to start charging fintechs every time a customer’s bank data is accessed, something it previously allowed for free.

JPMorgan plans to charge, Coinbase stays with aggregators

Earlier this year, JPMorgan sent out pricing sheets to multiple data firms, laying out new fees that could cost the industry hundreds of millions. The charges vary depending on how the data is used, with the highest fees aimed at payment services.

The bank hasn’t officially said when the fees will kick in, but people close to the matter said it could happen later this year, depending on how a delayed Biden-era regulation plays out.

The rule in question, originally written by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), says banks can’t charge customers for access to their own data. That rule is currently paused after a federal judge approved the CFPB’s request to delay the legal process around it. JPMorgan hasn’t confirmed if it plans to move forward with the fees while the rule is on hold.

Meanwhile, Coinbase said it will still keep working with data aggregators. In a statement, a company spokesperson said, “This direct Chase connection is an addition, not a replacement. We’ll continue using Plaid, MX, and others for broader connectivity.” In short, this new setup with JPMorgan will sit alongside Coinbase’s existing data deals, not replace them.

The point of a direct link like this is to lower costs, improve speed, and avoid the extra layer of aggregators. But that doesn’t mean everyone can pull it off. A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to say if they’d offer similar arrangements to other fintechs.

For smaller platforms, cutting out aggregators would mean negotiating individual agreements with every single bank they want access to, something most can’t afford to do. That’s why aggregators exist in the first place.

Credit card funding, reward points, and crypto access widen

Beyond the direct connection, Chase credit cards will soon work on Coinbase too. The companies said Chase customers will be able to fund their crypto wallets with their Chase cards starting this fall. And for the first time, they’ll also be able to use Chase rewards points to top up their Coinbase accounts.

This is one more step in Coinbase’s broader plan to expand crypto access through traditional banks. The company is already working on another partnership with PNC Financial Services, one of the country’s largest banks, to test crypto trading features for wealth and asset management clients. That plan is still early, but it shows Coinbase wants to push deeper into traditional finance.

Not everyone is happy about how JPMorgan is handling things, as Cryptopolitan reported. Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of the Gemini crypto exchange, called out the bank on X (formerly Twitter), saying JPMorgan paused Gemini’s onboarding process in retaliation for his public criticism of their fee plan. He posted, “JPMorgan is abusing its position by weaponizing access to the financial system.”

The bank didn’t respond to that accusation directly. But in a statement, a JPMorgan representative said, “We’ve invested heavily in secure infrastructure that protects consumers’ data. We’ve been having productive conversations with others in the ecosystem to ensure those protections are strong across the board.”

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