Where Does Jamie Dimon Stand on Crypto?
This week JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon expressed his opposition for cryptocurrencies and bitcoin at a Senate hearing, albeit not for the first time.
Dimon's been making public comments about crypto since at least 2014. While he has made seemingly contrasting statements over the years, his general thesis has been unwavering.
Here's what he has said over the years and some context around JPMorgan's blockchain foray to help understand where Dimon actually stands on crypto.
Dimon has been sharing his thoughts on bitcoin (BTCUSD) and other related technologies since at least 2014.
«It’s a terrible store of value, it can be replicated over and over. It doesn’t have the standing of a government,» he toldCNBC in an interview.
In September 2017, Dimon called bitcoin a fraud, going as far as labeling it worse than tulip bulbs—a reference to Tulipmania or the Tulip Bulb market bubble.
«I’d fire them in a second,» Bloomberg reported Dimon saying of any JPMorgan trader trading bitcoin «For two reasons: It’s against our rules, and they’re stupid. And both are dangerous.”
Just a month later in October, JPMorgan launched its blockchain initiative to help make interbank payments.
Three days prior to that launch, Dimon talked up the potential for blockchain technology—the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies.
»I could care less about bitcoin. I don’t know why I said anything about it. The blockchain is a technology which is a good technology. We actually use it. It will be useful in a lot of different things. God bless the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, I think are also fine. JPMorgan moves $6 trillion around the world every day, and we don’t do it in cash, it’s done digitally. If it can be done
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