JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon expressed his dislike of Bitcoin because he considers the cryptocurrency a risky bet for buyers, while raising concerns about its use by global criminal networks.
Bitcoin prices have risen by over 60 percent so far this year, as of March 12, 09:25 a.m. EST, to trade near $72,000 per coin. While speaking about the cryptocurrency during The Australian Financial Review Business Summit on Tuesday, Mr. Dimon said he sees a market bubble, and remains concerned about how the currency is used by criminals. “I defend your right to smoke a cigarette, [and] I’ll defend your right to buy a Bitcoin. I will personally never buy Bitcoin, and I do think it’s a risk if you are a buyer. When governments look at all this stuff, why do they put up with it?” he said.
Mr. Dimon has long held a negative view regarding Bitcoin. During a Senate Banking Committee hearing in December, for example, the CEO said he has been “deeply opposed to crypto, Bitcoin, etc.”
Mr. Dimon insisted that “the only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers … money laundering, tax avoidance … If I was the government, I’d close it down.”
During a virtual conversation held by the Institute of International Finance in 2021, he said, “I personally think that Bitcoin is worthless … I don’t think you should smoke cigarettes either.”
“Our clients are adults. They disagree. 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.”
Back in September 2017, he referred to Bitcoin as a “fraud” that will eventually blow up. “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart.” At the time, Bitcoin was trading at $3,787.
Criminal Use
Mr. Dimon’s concern about Bitcoin being used for illegal activity has been confirmed by several reports. A January report by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis revealed that $24.2 billion worth of crypto transactions in 2023 were done via illicit addresses.Out of this, almost a quarter was accounted for by Bitcoin. Although Bitcoin’s share of the total illicit crypto transaction volume has come down, it still remains the single largest cryptocurrency used for such purposes.
“Some forms of illicit cryptocurrency activity, such as darknet market sales and ransomware extortion, still take place predominantly in Bitcoin,” it stated.
Cryptocurrencies are also used by America’s rivals to pursue their interests and harm U.S. interests. A May 2023 report from Elliptic revealed that Chinese businesses involved in trafficking fentanyl into the United States were using cryptocurrencies.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. It is now the leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 18 and 45 in America.
“Most fentanyl trafficked into the United States is manufactured using precursors imported from Chinese suppliers,” the report said. “Elliptic researchers received offers from more than 90 China-based companies to supply fentanyl precursors, 90 percent of which accepted cryptocurrency payments.”
A ‘Fraud’ Investment
Mr. Dimon isn’t the only expert who sees no value in cryptocurrencies. In 2022, Charlie Munger, the late vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, called cryptocurrencies “partly fraud and partly delusion.”“That’s a bad combination. I don’t like either fraud or delusion. And the delusion may be more extreme than the fraud,” he said in an interview with CNBC. He had earlier called for banning cryptocurrencies.
During a shareholder meeting in April 2022, the renowned investor said he tries to avoid things that are “stupid and evil,” pointing to Bitcoin as fitting all criteria.
In January last year, Shaktikanta Das, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), equated investing in cryptocurrencies to “gambling.”
“RBI’s position is very clear: all cryptos should be banned. However, the technology of blockchain needs to be supported as it has so many other applications,” he said during a summit, according to Business Today. “Some people call it as an asset, while others call it as a financial product, and if that be the case, it has to have some underline. In the case of crypto, there is no underline.”
“The volatility in prices is based on the make-believe concept where a particular crypto’s price can go up or down. So, anything that comes without any underline whose valuations is entirely dependent on make-believe is just 100 percent speculation or it can be bluntly termed as gambling.”
