The Wall Street tycoon and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon is once again talking about bitcoin investors in a derogatory fashion. On October 12, Dimon told CNBC that he was done talking about bitcoin and that it was basically irrelevant to him. However, Dimon won’t shut up about bitcoin as the bank executive called bitcoin investors “stupid” and someday they will “pay the price.”
Also read: Bitcoin Proponents Respond to JP Morgan Executive’s Statements
Dimon Says He Won’t Talk About Bitcoin But Then Gives a Speech About the Currency and It’s Investors
Recently, Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a “fraud” and bitcoin markets saw a correction the following day stemming from Chinese exchange closures. Interestingly enough, JP Morgan Securities Ltd., bought up a bunch of bitcoin-based exchange-traded notes during the dip. The Wall Street mogul was even called out for market manipulation, and a report was filed with the Swedish financial authorities. The London-based algorithmic liquidity provider Blockswater explained Dimon had broken the financial bylaws within the European Union’s Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) articles.
Then this Thursday Dimon was recorded by the news outlet CNBC saying, “I wouldn’t put this high on the category of important things in the world, but I’m not going to talk about bitcoin anymore.” Then Marianne Lake JP Morgan’s CFO said, “we are open-minded for digital currencies that are properly controlled and regulated.” However, according to CNBC after these statements the very next day at the Institute of International Finance conference, Dimon had some choice words for bitcoin investors.
“If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day,” Dimon explained to attendees of the event.
Dimon Could Care Less About Bitcoin Markets
Dimon’s opinions also follow bitcoin’s spectacular climb to the $5,840 territory on October 12. The decentralized currency has been on a record climb all year outpacing a majority of stocks, state-issued currencies, and commodities. Despite the price spike, Dimon is not in the least bit interested in bitcoin’s market value.
“The only value of bitcoin is what the other guy’ll pay for it,” Dimon explains. “Honestly I think there’s a good chance of the buyers out there are out there jazzing it up every day so that maybe you’ll buy it too, and take them out.”
I could care less what bitcoin trades for, how it trades, why it trades, who trades it. If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day. I’ve also told people that it can trade at $100,000 before it trades to zero. Tulip bulbs traded for $75,000 or something like that — Who cares about bitcoin? The world economy is so big.
‘JP Morgan Moves More Money Than Bitcoin’
The executive went on to say that people are quite good at manipulating the press and pumping bitcoin. Dimon says “every day, you have CNBC, nonstop bitcoin” coverage and explains bitcoin markets are peanuts in his eyes.
JP Morgan alone, $6 trillion, we move all this money, and bitcoin in total, all these currencies, $50 billion dollars, maybe a billion dollars trades a day.
Even though Dimon said he wouldn’t talk about bitcoin anymore, he had an awful lot to say about the currency, while at the same time promoting a “blockchain technology,” either backed by a commodity or with government approval.
“When I made that ‘stupid statement’ calling bitcoin a fraud, my daughter sent me an email saying, ‘Dad, I own two bitcoins.’… My formerly smart daughter,” Dimon concludes.
What do you think about Dimon’s opinions about bitcoin? Let us know in the comments below.
Images via Business Insider, and Crain’s New York Business.
Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.
