JPMorgan CEO Comes Hard for Bitcoin, Calls it Tool for Criminals

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of top financial institution JPMorgan Chase lashed out on crypto today, precisely Bitcoin (BTC) while testifying during a Wall Street oversight hearing by the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Jamie Dimon Plots Bitcoin’s Shutdown

At the hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren asked the JPMorgan chief what his concerns are on anti-money laundering. In response, Dimon declared that he would “close down” BTC if he were the government. Dimon’s stance on the flagship cryptocurrency stems from the fact that bad players have taken to digital assets to carry out their illegal activities, from cyber criminals to drug traffickers. 

He believes that these bad actors use crypto to engage in money laundering and tax evasion. He has consistently encouraged investors to stay away from Bitcoin and also noted that stablecoins need to be fully regulated. Noteworthy, these conversations with Senator Warren are coming up as the U.S. lawmaker gets ready to release the crypto Bill that she has been working on for a while now. 

Leveraging on her membership with the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Warren has been trying to convince committee members and her other colleagues to push for crypto regulation. Precisely, she urged committee members and Senators to sign a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) calling for the withdrawal of crypto services offered by banks.

JPMorgan Maintains Optimism About Bitcoin ETF

While Dimon holds on to his critical view of Bitcoin and has been quite open about it, it is worth noting that his firm is heavily invested in blockchain. The financial service provider was recently involved in the discussions concerning spot Bitcoin ETF. 

According to some analysts from JPMorgan led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, if the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejects the new product applications from over twelve applicants, it is likely to attract legal backlash which may end up engulfing the regulator. 

JPMorgan, like many other spectators, is optimistic that the response of the SEC in the end to the dozen-plus spot Bitcoin ETF would be an approval.