JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon: Bitcoin has no value and authorities will soon ‘regulate the hell out of it’

In 2017, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon took a shot at Bitcoin, saying the world’s most popular cryptocurrency “is a fraud.” At a gathering hosted by Barclays in New York, Dimon said, “It’s just not a real thing, eventually it will be closed.”

Dimon went on to tell a group of professional investors what would happen to JPMorgan traders taking bitcoin action: “I’d fire them in a second. For two reasons: it’s against our rules, and they’re stupid. And both are dangerous.” Also, in response to a moderator question at an Institute of International Finance conference, Dimon said: “If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day.”

Then in 2018, Dimon did a complete U-turn saying that he regrets calling Bitcoin a fraud. In an exclusive interview with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo, Dimon said he regrets past comments in which he called Bitcoin a fraud at a September banking conference.

“The blockchain is real,” Dimon said during the interview. “You can have crypto dollars in yen and stuff like that. ICOs … you got to look at everyone individually. The bitcoin was always to me what the governments are going to feel about bitcoin when it gets really big. And I just have a different opinion than other people.”

Fast forward three years later. Dimon is back to his 2017 position doubling down on his past skepticism of bitcoin.

In a TV interview with Axios published on Monday, Dimon warned investors that the cryptocurrency has no underlying value. “It’s got no intrinsic value,” said Dimon in response to a question on whether bitcoin was akin to fool’s gold.

When asked about whether authorities should regulate crypto, Dimon said, “Regulators are going to regulate the hell out of it,” adding that this was more factual than a moral statement.

“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,” he told Axios. Dimon is a longtime crypto critic who has trashed bitcoin as a “fraud” and a waste of time.

Just last month, Dimon said he wouldn’t care if the price of bitcoin goes even higher. “That does not mean it can’t go 10 times in price in the next five years,” Dimon told the Times of India. “I remember when beanie babies were selling for $2,000 a pop. We all know about tulip bulbs.”

Below is a transcript of his interview

Bitcoin: Is it the fool’s gold of the future?

Dimon: “It’s got no intrinsic value. And regulators are going to regulate the hell out of it.”
Should they regulate it?

“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.”
What’s the smartest thing the government does?

Below is the video of the interview.