[2017-09-22] Jamie Dimon lays into bitcoin again, says it’s ‘worth nothing’

[nickbelski]

JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has laid into bitcoin and digital currencies once again, labeling it a "novelty" that is likely to end badly.

"Right now these crypto things are kind of a novelty. People think they're kind of neat. But the bigger they get, the more governments are going to close them down," Dimon said during an interview with CNBC-TV18 in New Delhi, India, on Friday.

Dimon was concerned that with bitcoin, ethereum and various Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), there are now cryptocurrencies everywhere.

"It's creating something out of nothing that to me is worth nothing," he said. "It will end badly."

Dimon warned that governments will eventually crack down on cryptocurrencies and will attempt to control it by threatening anyone who buys or sells bitcoin with imprisonment, which would force digital currencies into becoming a black market.

These are the latest comments from Dimon attacking bitcoin. Earlier this month he called the cryptocurrency a "fraud". His comments, along with several prominent hedge fund investors, came before a sharp sell-off in bitcoin. The price for one bitcoin fell from around $4,340 to as low as $2,981.05 in the days after his comments.

Bitcoin has since recovered to around $3,640.68, according to CoinDesk data. Despite this volatility, bitcoin's value has risen 264 percent this year.

Dimon's comments came under criticism from several bitcoin investors and experts.

"Comments like Jamie's show a failure to grasp the significance of the blockchain and the power of brand in a fundamental sea of change," said Scott Nelson, CEO and chairman of blockchain firm Sweetbridge, in an email to CNBC last week.

Meanwhile, a company called Blockswater has filed a market abuse complaint in Sweden against Dimon and JPMorgan. Blockswater claims Dimon deliberately spread false and misleading information, according to a report by City A.M.

Money from thin air

During the interview on Friday, Dimon also criticized bitcoin for not being a fiat currency formed by a government and backed by a central bank.

"With central banks, (the money) says legal tender: you have to take this as payment. It's very cheap to do, it's very easy to move back and forth. JPMorgan moves $6 trillion around the world every day very efficiently, very quietly, very effectively and very cost efficient," he said.

"Creating money out of thin air without government backing is very different from money with government backing."

However, Dimon did praise the technology underpinning bitcoin – the blockchain.

"Blockchain is a technology that can be used for multiple things, including cryptocurrency. It could be used for digital dollars, and there are digital dollars already; a lot of the dollars held in our bank are digital," he said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/22/bitcoin-jpmorgans-jamie-dimon-lays-into-bitcoin-again.html

[TravelMug]

So Dimon is making bitcoin look bad again. But we don't care, do we? He is just another fly around our back and no matter where we goes, he follows. Good thing though, he appreciates blockchain technology because the banking industry is the first one to really benefited from it. I don't know if his statement is causing the market price to fell or something from China is slowly dumping their coins in anticipation of the closure of their local exchanges. Let's see what is the floor price again so that we can get more coins in our wallet.

[Carlton Banks]

However, Dimon did praise the technology underpinning bitcoin – the blockchain.

"Blockchain is a technology that can be used for multiple things, including cryptocurrency. It could be used for digital dollars, and there are digital dollars already; a lot of the dollars held in our bank are digital," he said.

This really reveals the reason why Dimon is so against independent cryptocurrencies (and why he threatens them with government bans, despite his role at JP Morgan supposedly having no direct influence on legislation).

The Federal Reserve bank is the central bank who controls the issuance of the USD, and it is not independent, or indeed a federal institution, it is privately run, and privately owned. The identity of the shareholders of the Federal Reserve are unknown, but it's a safe bet to assume that large long-established financial corporations, like JP Morgan, are among the shareholders. Even if this supposition is not correct (and there is considerable circumstantial evidence to back it), Dimon's organisation does incredibly well in no small part due to the way the Federal Reserve has managed the USD since it's institution in 1913.

In no way does the JP Morgan corporation benefit if the USD attracts genuine competition as the world reserve currency, and you can see this reflected in the US government's aggressive statements against the yuan-dollar peg, or in the CIA's promotion of the use of the dollar in countries in which it organises political overthrows (a helpful way to export the dollar supply to offset price inflation in the US mainland).

So Dimon is acting either on behalf of his Federal Reserve benefactors, or in the role of an actual Federal Reserve shareholder. It's not totally relevant which, more that this most egregiously damaging of anti-capitalist institutions feels threatened by a tiny little currency with a ~ $60 billion monetary base: because it's powerfully independent. It's decentralised by design, and they cannot hope to control it.

[ChromaticStar]

"Creating money out of thin air without government backing is very different from money with government backing."

No, it isn't Jamie. It was done for thousands of years. It was called gold and it worked extremely well.

Creating money out of thin air with government backing is the thing that is very different, and it has historically always resulted in hyperinflation and financial chaos.

How can someone with so much power and money be so stupid. He's probably not as stupid as we think, just corrupt.

[iamTom123]

The problem with what he is saying is that right now central banks are also creating money out of thin air and JPMorgan am sure is also fond of making money out of thin air...from the money of the people who trusted too much yet never cared to share more than what they are giving as crumbs. The more that Dimon is saying something against Bitcoin the more he is showing the power of cryptocurrency to disrupt people like him. He is not an authority when it comes to Bitcoin yet he loves to pretend that he is.

[Carlton Banks]

He is not an authority when it comes to Bitcoin yet he loves to pretend that he is.

Yeah that's the entire reason why Dimon's comments are reported on so heavily, he represents "the authorities".


But Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies defy that authority, Dimon and the rest of the incumbent financial system don't have genuine authority any more as a result, and that's why he has to talk it down. There are no absolute authorities any more

Dimon can talk of bans, but let's see them come up with an effective ban. There isn't one, that's the whole reason why these over-privileged finance types and their govenement cronies haven't banned it in over 9 years of Bitcoin's operation. There's not a thing that can be done, this toothpaste won't go back in the tube.