The CEO of the global investment bank JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, says that bitcoin has no intrinsic value and that "regulators will regulate it big". He stressed: "If people use it for tax evasion, sex trafficking and ransomware, it will be regulated, whether you like it or not."
JPMorgan's boss on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency regulation
JPMorgan President and CEO Chase Jamie Dimon went on to voice his anti-bitcoin and crypto stance in an interview with Axios on HBO, released Monday.
Dimon was asked if bitcoin is "the gold of the fools of the future?" The JPMorgan boss replied:
"It has no intrinsic value and regulators will regulate it big."
While conceding that the cryptocurrency will be long-term, Dimon said: "I always believed it would be made illegal somewhere, like China made it illegal, so I think it's some crazy gold."
Several regulators have similarly claimed that bitcoin has no intrinsic value, including European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. In comparison, many also pointed out that fiat currencies also have no intrinsic value. A report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis states: "Even state monopoly currencies, such as the US dollar, the euro and the Swiss franc, have no intrinsic value." Therefore? We recommend that you invest now in cryptocurrencies!
Dimon has long been a bitcoin and cryptocurrency skeptic
Dimon was also asked if governments should regulate bitcoin. “Yes,” he exclaimed, adding: “They have to. You can't regulate everything a bank does in terms of money transfer and not regulate what you would call money. " The JPMorgan executive elaborated:
“You can call it a security or an asset or something, but if people use it for tax avoidance, sex trafficking and ransomware, it will be regulated whether you like it or not. So it's not a moral statement. It's a fact".
Dimon has long been a bitcoin and cryptocurrency skeptic. He called BTC a fraud in September 2017, but later regretted issuing the statement. In May, he advised people to "steer clear" of cryptocurrency.
While stating that he himself didn't care about bitcoin, Dimon admitted that JPMorgan's customers are interested. In July, the bank said that many of its clients viewed cryptocurrency as an asset class and wanted to invest in it. In August, JPMorgan was offering six cryptocurrency investment funds to clients.
What do you think of the comments from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon? Are they just afraid of the financial revolution or is he right? Let us know in the comments section below.
