While the crypto market may have turned things around in recent weeks, it seems the JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, hasn’t changed his tune. The CEO is well-known for taking a negative stance against Bitcoin and reiterated this yesterday at an Institute for International Finance event.
Back in 2014, Dimon called Bitcoin worthless. The coin is now up almost 7,000% since he made his infamous remarks yet his opinion remains the same. At the Institute of National Finance event, Dimon said once again, “I personally think Bitcoin is worthless.”
The CEO then went on to say that JPMorgan’s clients are “adults” and that he was prepared to give them clean access to the coin- even though the firm cannot currently hold BTC.
During the event, it seemed that Dimon was on a mission to outdo himself. The CEO issued a challenge to those in the crypto community stating a 21 million limit on Bitcoin issuance.
Dimon said, “I’ll just challenge the group to one other thing: How do you know it ends at 21 million? You all read the algorithms? You guys all believe that? I don’t know, I’ve always been a skeptic of stuff like that.”
CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, made his response on Twitter writing that not only had he read the algorithm in question but that he also wrote it to make sure that he understood it.
After Dimon’s remarks, Twitter users flocked to share their own responses to the JPMorgan boss. One user, @bantg wrote sarcastically, “If only that algorithm was so simple it could fit in a Tweet.” The user then proceeded to do exactly that.
Armstrong went on to say that CEOs without any science or engineering background will find themselves at a disadvantage in the coming decades. He stated that this would probably also be the case for politicians, journalists and many other roles. The Coinbase CEO concluded his remarks by saying that “software is eating the world, changing every industry.”
Despite his clear stance, Dimon has not stood in the way of crypto progress in JPMorgan. The investment bank is making moves in the sector by offering clients access to Bitcoin markets.
Dimon has made a series of outbursts at Bitcoin so far this year. When asked about whether Bitcoin should be regulated he answered, “Yes. If people are using it for tax avoidance and sex trafficking and ransomware, it’s going to be regulated, whether you like it or not. So it’s not a moral statement. It’s a factual statement.”
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