JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) head of blockchain Umar Farooq sees potential with cryptocurrency, but he argues that some important issues need to be addressed before banks get involved.
“I think we all believe blockchain [is] ‘good.’ I wouldn’t’ go as far to say cryptocurrencies [are] ‘bad.’ I would say cryptocurrencies have issues. I think we need to figure out how those issues get solved,” Farooq told Yahoo Finance’s Editor-in-chief Andy Serwer at Yahoo Finance’s All Market Summit.
Farooq sees a lot of positives with cryptocurrencies but says there are still a lot of issues that need to be addressed. One of the main concerns with cryptocurrencies is money laundering. Farooq said that banking industry professionals and regulators see the potential, but they have to grapple with the issue of money laundering and making sure that they know the customer.
He just thinks cryptocurrencies need “some evolution.”
Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.