Jamie Dimon Crypto Quotes & Opinions: Why He Doesn’t Like It

Key Takeaways

• Jamie Dimon is the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank.
• He’s been a vocal critic of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in the past, calling them “fraud” and “worse than tulip bulbs.”
• Dimon’s stance on blockchain technology itself is positive, and JPMorgan Chase has developed their own JPM Coin for institutional clients.

Crypto Opinion👎 “I’m a major skeptic on crypto tokens”Crypto ProjectsJPMorgan’s Onyx blockchain platformTwitter@jpmorgan (Corp account)ProfessionCEO JPMorgan ChaseNet Worth$1.7 BillionCountry of ResidenceUnited StatesCompanies OwnedN/A

Jamie Dimon Crypto Position

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It’s no secret that Jamie Dimon is not fond of crypto. He has called crypto a “terrible store of value,” “worse than tulip bulbs,” and said if his traders were found trading crypto, he would “fire them in a second.” He has since walked back some of his comments.

Jamie Dimon’s opinions on crypto and blockchain have ranged from measured criticisms to outright tirades against the technology. After JPMorgan’s increasing involvement in blockchain technology, Dimon’s stance has increasingly become anti-crypto but pro-blockchain. A rough timeline of his opinions on cryptocurrencies is below.

• As far back as 2014, the banker called Bitcoin a “terrible store of value” and wondered aloud why regulatory bodies permit the trading of cryptocurrencies at all.
• In 2017 Dimon made headlines when he said that if he caught JPMorgan traders buying or selling crypto, he would “fire them in a second”. In the same year, he compared cryptocurrencies to the 17th-century Dutch tulip mania: “You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think the people buying it are really smart. It’s worse than tulip bulbs.”
• During the first major crypto bull market in 2018, Dimon seemed to soften his staunch opposition to crypto, saying he “regrets” making a comment in which he called digital currency a fraud. He was also quoted as saying, “the blockchain is real,” and seemed to imply that fiat-denominated cryptocurrencies backed by governments would thrive, redirecting his past criticisms at Bitcoin.
• In 2019, JPMorgan made headlines when they announced they would be using blockchain technology to launch their own cryptocurrency called “JPM Coin”. The cryptocurrency is available only to institutional clients, has a value pegged to the US dollar, and is used to facilitate instant financial transactions. JPMorgan spokespeople were quick to separate JPM Coin from the rest of the cryptocurrency market, noting that it’s “definitely not like” Bitcoin.
• JPMorgan has since begun enabling crypto purchases for its clients. To this, Dimon has said, “Our clients are adults. They disagree. That’s what makes markets. So, if they want to have access to buy yourself Bitcoin, we can’t custody it, but we can give them legitimate, as clean as possible, access.”
• Testifying before US Congress in 2022, Dimon doubled down on his dislike of cryptocurrencies, saying, “I’m a major skeptic on crypto tokens, which you call currency, like Bitcoin. They are decentralized Ponzi schemes.” Dimon called for greater regulation and said stablecoins wouldn’t be a problem if they were regulated properly.

In recent years, Dimon has continued lambasting Bitcoin as worthless, even as his firm enables more and more crypto transactions. Dimon has been careful to separate his criticism of existing cryptocurrencies from his praise of blockchains, saying, “We believe there are many uses where a blockchain can replace or improve contracts, data ownership, and other enhancements.”

JPMorgan Chase’s Blockchain Technology

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Despite Jamie Dimon’s hesitations about crypto, JPMorgan has fully embraced blockchain technology. They have their own private blockchain called Onyx which they use for instant money transfers. The bank’s future blockchain plans include tokenized financial assets and a digital wallet.

While Jamie Dimon is famous for his criticisms of mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, JPMorgan is taking no chances when it comes to adopting blockchain technology. As the biggest bank in the US, they are getting ahead of crypto adoption and building a wide range of in-house blockchain technology to support their clients’ needs.

• JPM Coin and Onyx: JPMorgan has developed their own blockchain-enabled cryptocurrency called JPM Coin. The token is currently only used for private, institutional transactions and reportedly has a value pegged to the US dollar. JPM Coin transactions are facilitated through an internal blockchain called Onyx. According to JPMorgan, the purpose of the coin and the blockchain is to enable instantaneous money transfers for institutional clients.
• Crypto Trading for Clients: JPMorgan’s wealth management clients now have access to several crypto funds that they can park their money in. The firm currently supports the Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts from Grayscale, the Bitcoin trust from Osprey, and a Bitcoin fund from crypto firm NYDIG. In 2020, the bank also extended banking services to Coinbase and Gemini, two of the largest US-based cryptocurrency exchanges.
• Tokenizing Assets: Executives of the bank have expressed interest in tokenizing traditional financial assets such as US Treasuries and money market funds. The purpose of this tokenization would be to bring these assets into DeFi and allow traders to plug them into liquidity pools and other blockchain rails.
• Crypto Wallet & DeFi Identity Layer: Patent filings from JPMorgan hint at the bank’s plans to develop a crypto wallet that allows for transfers of digital currencies, virtual payments accounts, and instant payment settlement. The bank is also exploring their own identity solutions for DeFi, focusing on privacy-enabling features such as sharing only necessary credentials, while keeping the rest of a client’s identity private during a transaction.
• Decentraland: At the height of the Metaverse buzz in 2022, JPMorgan launched their own virtual lounge in the Metaverse game Decentraland. The lounge is primarily symbolic, featuring a roaming tiger and a portrait of Jamie Dimon. However, the banking titan’s foray into the metaverse was taken as a bullish signal and caused Decentraland’s LAND token price to shoot up 8% on the day of the announcement.

Jamie Dimon News

Who is Jamie Dimon?

Jamie Dimon is the chairman and CEO of US bank JPMorgan Chase. As the head of the largest bank in the US, Dimon is respected as a financial expert, and his comments on the crypto industry carry significant weight.

Dimon has shared his views on the crypto industry countless times, and his appraisal is largely negative. Starting around 2017, Dimon’s comments on crypto have ranged from disapproving to outright cynical. His bank, JPMorgan Chase, however, offers a wide range of cryptocurrency products to its clients, and they even maintain their own private blockchain that is used for instant settlement of client fund transfers.

Major Achievements:

• Consistently ranked as one of the most influential people in the world by Forbes and Time
• Led JPMorgan Chase as the firm became the biggest bank in the United States
• One of the only billionaires in the banking industry

Social Channels: Jamie Dimon on LinkedIn

Jamie Dimon’s Career and Life

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Jamie Dimon started his career as an apprentice to a successful banker. He helped build the modern-day Citigroup, and after a successful early career, he was named head of JPMorgan Chase in 2005.

Jamie Dimon was born in New York City in 1956. He graduated from Tufts University and started his career at Shearson, a major bank at the time, under the tutelage of legendary banker Sandy Weill. After getting his MBA from Harvard, Dimon followed Weill to American Express and eventually to Travelers Group, where Weill became chief executive. Under Weil, Dimon worked closely on the merger between Travelers and Citicorp that led to the creation of Citigroup — one of the largest banking operations in the US today.

Dimon left Citigroup in 1998 to become the CEO of a large bank that was subsequently acquired by JPMorgan Chase. In 2005 Dimon was named CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and under Dimon’s leadership, the firm became the largest US bank by 2008.

JPMorgan Chase’s growth has not slowed since, and its success has made Dimon one of the only billionaires in banking. He is routinely featured on lists of the most influential people in the world put together by publications like Forbes and Time. Dimon has held notable positions, including serving on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and being a member of former President Donald Trump’s economic advisory team.