JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Wants to “Close Down” Cryptocurrency

There are people who like cryptocurrency, and there are those who don’t. That’s fine, as no one has to get involved with crypto if they don’t want to. Yet, there’s a subset of people – including some government and banking bigwigs – who don’t want anyone to have access to cryptocurrency.

It’s an extreme position to take, but somehow it makes sense to a handful of Bitcoin haters. Evidently, they’re willing to use the ban hammer instead of allowing adults to make financial decisions for themselves.

But then, whenever someone in a position of power wants to ban something that’s currently not illegal, ask yourself whether that person might have a vested interest in the ban. This can help us to better understand the recent statements of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to the Senate Banking Committee.

“I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, Bitcoin, etc.,” Dimon declared. However, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all, he’s the head of a traditional financial institution that can’t easily afford to have King Dollar replaced by a currency that’s controlled by the people instead of by a small oligopoly.

Perhaps Dimon is losing sleep at night as Bitcoin gains adoption and zooms higher, recently breaking above $43,000. He probably won’t feel very comfortable when Bitcoin eventually – maybe even in 2024 – shoots above its previous peak of around $69,000.

Courtesy: @KobeissiLetter

Actually, it might not take very long at all for Bitcoin to break out. Judging by the open interest in the options market, traders currently expect the Bitcoin price to reach $50,000 by January.

There’s no guarantee that Bitcoin will get there, of course, but the prospect of an approved spot Bitcoin ETF is certainly drawing a lot of attention to cryptocurrency. Dimon and JPMorgan might not be in the pro-crypto camp, but another financial giant is choosing to join the movement instead of trying to resist it.

Specifically, Blackrock is among the contenders for the first financial firm to get a spot Bitcoin ETF approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Grayscale is another contender, but Blackrock has the deep pockets to get the job done.

Apparently, Dimon’s not on board with any of this. Referring to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency generally, Dimon proclaimed, “The only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers… money laundering, tax avoidance.”

There are many people who would strenuously disagree with this, of course. Just ask anyone who lives in a country with hyperinflation and chooses to use cryptocurrency instead of nearly worthless fiat money.

Or, talk to people who use cryptocurrency to transfer funds across borders immediately and cost-efficiently in order to send money to family members abroad. Are these individuals all “criminals” and “drug traffickers,” according to Dimon?

Courtesy: @rovercrc

It seems that Dimon doesn’t understand the inevitability of Bitcoin’s mainstream acceptance and adoption. If he dares to bet against crypto and the blockchain, history will look back and see his reputation as tarnished.

But when a public figure is on the wrong side of the trade and the wrong side of history, he’ll say ludicrous things to defend his position. Thus, it’s startling but perhaps not surprising that Dimon said about cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, “If I was the government, I’d close it down.”

It’s a good thing Dimon’s not the government, as he apparently doesn’t know that he couldn’t close cryptocurrency down any more than he could close down the internet or artificial intelligence. It’s a technology that’s already out there, and technology moves forward, not backward.

When someone is backward-looking, though, it’s frightening to look toward the future. So, stay tuned as more banking executives will undoubtedly have something to say about the progress of crypto, even if they’re powerless to do anything about it.