JPMorgan CEO Doesn’t Like Bitcoin, But Won’t Stop Doing Crypto Business

There seems to be a contradiction between JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s stance on Bitcoin and the bank’s immediate and future plans.
However, the cryptocurrency business within JPMorgan continues from strength to strength, although Dimon doesn’t smell good about bitcoins.
He admits that cryptocurrencies will endure and BTC could increase up to 10 times in the next few years.

JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, reiterated his criticism of Bitcoin, saying it is a worthless currency that will eventually be regulated by governments. The CEO of the world’s largest investment bank has also called cryptocurrencies “fool’s gold” before.

Looking at what is happening in the United States, Dimon predicted that cryptocurrencies will end up being regulated by governments.

"Whatever you think about this, the Government is going to regulate it, be it for anti-laundering [of funds] or for taxes,"

said the banking executive during a conference at the Institute of International Finance.

Dimon, who has wasted no time criticizing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, said: “Personally, I think that Bitcoin is worthless.” But his anti-crypto thinking hasn’t stopped his bank from increasing crypto-asset business plans.

While commenting on JPMorgan’s recent decision to create a fund for clients with more robust wealth as demand for Bitcoin and other crypto assets continues to grow, Dimon has admitted that the bank’s clients want Bitcoin.

If Customers Want Bitcoins, We Can’t Stop It

On several occasions, Dimon has compared cryptocurrencies to cigarettes. “I don’t think you should smoke cigarettes either,” he said. “Our clients are adults, they don’t agree [with me]. So, if they want to have access to buy or sell Bitcoin, we can’t custody it, but we can give them legitimate, as clean as possible access,” said the bank manager.

In contrast to Dimon’s sentiment, the price of Bitcoin on Tuesday at 9:00 AM EST stood at $57,179, which reaffirms the view that the cryptocurrency seems to have stabilized around $50,000.

While Bitcoin still remains below its April all-time high, when it hit $64,000, Bitcoin has posted its five-month high this week. It has also managed to slightly reduce the volatility seen in previous months.

Dimon Says Price of Bitcoin Could Multiply by 10

The JPMorgan CEO’s criticism of BTC has not stopped him from admitting that the price of the cryptocurrency could go up 10 times in the next five years.

Speaking to The Times of India last month, Dimon said that the rise in the price of Bitcoin would not be due to the intrinsic value of the currency but because of “speculation (which) occurs in all markets of the world, including communist countries.”

During that same interview he also said: “I am not a buyer of Bitcoins. I think if you borrow money to buy Bitcoins, you are a fool.”

He added, “I’ve always believed it’ll be made illegal someplace,” which happened recently in China. The Chinese government declared all commercial activities related to cryptocurrencies illegal.

At the same time, China is making efforts to consolidate its digital yuan project to compete with the dollar and dominate international trade. China’s regime, which sees private cryptocurrencies as a dangerous competitor to its own currency, has declared that they constitute a highly volatile and speculative form of investment.

On The Flipside

JPMorgan Chase announced in 2019 the launch of a digital currency called JPM Coin.
Then in October 2020, the bank created a new unit for blockchain projects.
In August of this year, the company decided to give its wealth management clients access to crypto-asset funds.

Why You Should Care?

China’s war on BTC and fears over its regulation affected the price of all cryptocurrencies. From May to June, the price of BTC plummeted from $59,000 to $29,000.
But, after the White House, the Federal Reserve, and the US SEC said they would not ban BTC, its price went up again.

The Biden administration, however, is studying cryptocurrencies more closely and monitoring the flows of dirty money obtained through the network. The US federal government is offering up to $10,000 in reward money to those who provide information on ransomware attacks.

Despite viewing cryptocurrencies as useless assets, JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, is of the opinion that cryptocurrencies will continue to exist.