JPM Coin is not a Bitcoin [BTC] killer, but can impact Ripple: Morgan Creek Digital Capital CEO

The entry of institutional players into the field of cryptocurrencies was seen as a major trend change in the market. The start of 2019 has seen a major market shakeup with bullish spikes, bearish crashes as well as changes in the cryptocurrency rankings.

The news of JP Morgan, the largest bank in the United States, releasing its own cryptocurrency called JPM Coin also created a massive splash in the cryptosphere. This news was met with trepidation and criticism by a lot of crypto-enthusiasts, with the latest one being Mark Yusko, the Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Creek Digital Capital.

Speaking to Ran NeuNer, Yusko clearly stated that JPM Coin is not a cryptocurrency and should never be considered as one. He claimed that the asset was created in a “walled garden by the elites” with no sensible backing. In his words:

“They have gone ahead (with) a backed JPM Coin with the fiat currency, something that we are trying to escape from. It is not decentralized and let’s please not call it a cryptocurrency. They want people to call it a Bitcoin killer but it can be a Ripple killer.”

Yusko’s words were also reflected earlier by Tom Shaughnessy, principal at Delphi Digital. He said:

“This is a huge slap in the face for Ripple. Ripple’s target market is cross-border payments and remittances and now JPMorgan’s effort is a direct threat.”

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was of an entirely different opinion and dismissed the impact of JPM Coin on XRP. He tweeted:

“As predicted, banks are changing their tune on crypto. But this JPM project misses the point- introducing a closed network today is like launching AOL after Netscape’s IPO. 2 years later, and bank coins still aren’t the answer.”

In a cryptocurrency conference in the Cayman Islands, Yusko pointed out that out of the many cryptocurrencies listed on the charts, there were only 15 or 16 coins that can be called as a store of value, branding the others as utility tokens.

The Morgan Creek official cited the importance of institutions entering crypto and compared it to the times when the thought of institutions putting money in hedge funds was unthinkable.