Jamie Dimon Strikes Again

Mid-Week News: Rates, Inflation, Crypto Winter

Jamie Dimon Strikes Again

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon just called bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “decentralized Ponzi schemes.” In a congressional testimony this week, he also referred to himself as “a major skeptic” when it comes to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. His remarks came during a hearing with the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services featuring representatives from major American banks. He also spoke about the possibility of a soft landing for the economy, the need for increased oil and gas production, and much more.

Nothing New

Dimon is a seasoned critic of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. He’s gone on the record previously calling bitcoin a “fraud” and “worthless.”

JPMorgan, the bank, however, has warmed to the idea of investing in cryptocurrencies in recent years, seeing significant upside opportunities for investors. That won’t keep Dimon from speaking his mind on the topic though. This is just Jamie being Jamie and it’s 100% understandable.

There’s rarely any substantial discussion of differences between bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies from Dimon. Crypto is one bucket and it tends to be that way when big names in finance such as Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger chime in on the topic. Famously, Buffett called bitcoin “rat poison squared.” It’s one of my favorite labels of bitcoin to date. All of these criticisms are okay.

The entire legacy finance world doesn’t agree with Dimon. His own bank, the largest by market cap in the world, feels differently. Fidelity feels differently. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, feels differently. Investors like Paul Tudor Jones or Bill Miller have called bitcoin “the fastest horse” and “inevitable” and have put their money where the mouth is.

I hold nothing against Dimon. I don’t look to him for an opinion on bitcoin and frankly, most cryptocurrencies are at the very least a distraction if not at times fraudulent. If 2022 has shown us anything, it’s that the same types of fraud committed in the legacy financial space will be repeated in crypto. We’re coming off of a $40 billion collapse of one of the most popular altcoin ecosystems that sent ripple effects throughout an irresponsible crypto lending community.

Heck, I own shares of JPMorgan. I have for years. I even added to my JPM position several times throughout the last year and I’ll likely continue to do so.