KEY POINTS
- Dimon is back slamming Bitcoin
- The JP Morgan Chase CEO conceded that there are cryptocurrencies with potential functional value
- He called Bitcoin a "pet rock"
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and his disdain toward Bitcoin, the world's largest crypto asset by market capitalization, was met with fierce opposition from Microstrategy's Michael Saylor and former National Security Agency contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden.
During an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Dimon, a well-known critic of Bitcoin, declared his intention to cease discussions about the world's most substantial cryptocurrency.
He stated, "This is the last time I'm talking about this with CNBC, so help me God."
While Dimon acknowledged that "blockchain is real" and that "it is a technology" and confirmed that "There's a cryptocurrency which might actually do something," he referred to Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency "which does nothing."
Dimon likened Bitcoin to "the pet rock," a term implying its perceived lack of intrinsic value or productive use, and cautioned people not to get involved with it.
His latest commentary about Bitcoin received flak from the cryptocurrency community.
Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, who is the co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy, the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder operating as a business intelligence and software company, could not help but react to Dimon's criticism of Bitcoin.
"If you encounter a strange new asset ("Pet Rock") circulating on a blockchain that "does nothing" other than allow people to own something they can "trade among themselves" without fear of debasement or theft, you have just discovered digital money," Saylor said in a tweet.
If you encounter a strange new asset ("Pet Rock") circulating on a blockchain that "does nothing" other than allow people to own something they can "trade among themselves" without fear of debasement or theft, you have just discovered digital money. #Bitcoin
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) January 17, 2024
Snowden also reacted to Dimon's Bitcoin tirade, saying, "Wild how the @SECGov approving a #Bitcoin ETF was all it took to transform the CEO of @JPMorgan from the King of Money into that guy who spends one half of every interview insisting "I don't care about Bitcoin," and the other half sobbing that it stole his wife and shot his dog."
Wild how the @SECGov approving a #Bitcoin ETF was all it took to transform the CEO of @JPMorgan from the King of Money into that guy who spends one half of every interview insisting "I don't care about Bitcoin," and the other half sobbing that it stole his wife and shot his dog.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 17, 2024
A month prior to his recent comments, Dimon made a significant statement to U.S. lawmakers during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, expressing a rather stringent stance on the cryptocurrency industry. He conveyed that, given the authority, he would opt to shut down the sector.
The CEO highlighted his perspective on the primary application of cryptocurrencies, stating that he views their "true use case" as being predominantly linked to criminal activities.
"I've always been deeply opposed to crypto, Bitcoin, et cetera. You pointed out the true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers, anti-money laundering, tax avoidance, and that is a use case because it is somewhat anonymous," Dimon said.
