The Rundown
In an interview with Fox Business Network, JP Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon admitted that he regrets calling Bitcoin a fraud. The news follows Dimon’s numerous negative comments about Bitcoin in 2017.
Speaking to Maria Bartiromo, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, made a partial retraction of his comments regarding Bitcoin, something he had called a fraud. The target of much ire from the crypto community, Dimon’s previous inflammatory comments include such nuggets of wisdom as:
If we had a trader who traded bitcoin I’d fire him in a second for two reasons. One, it’s against our rules. Two, it’s stupid.
and
You can’t have a business where people are going to invent a currency out of thin air. It won’t end well… someone is going to get killed and then the government is going to come down on it.
Dimon Pivots on Bitcoin
Dimon now appears to have rethought and regretted his rather outspoken statements. When confronted with his comments by Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business Network, he admitted his regret – to a degree:
I regret making them. The blockchain is real. You can have crypto Dollars and Yen and stuff like that. ICO’s you have to look at individually. The bitcoin to me was always what the governments are gonna feel about bitcoin as it gets really big, and I just have a different opinion than other people. I’m not interested that much in the subject at all.
The Dimon Effect
After Dimon made his initial derogatory comments earlier last year there was an internet backlash, including a Bitcoin company accusing him of market manipulation. His “cry foul” comments were also revealed to be rather ironic, as shortly after Dimon made his comments, it emerged that JP Morgan was actively seeking an experienced blockchain technician.
JP Morgan staff have proved capable of releasing a more nuanced analysis of Bitcoin, especially in light of the recent approval of Bitcoin futures trading on the CME and CBOE exchanges, where they identified Bitcoin’s position as an emerging asset class comparable to gold as a store of value.
Has Jamie Dimon’s apparently softened stance on Bitcoin made his comments any less cutting? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
