JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, in his recent statements to the US Senate Banking Committee, has reinforced his critical views on cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
Dimon responded to a question from Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who claimed North Korea had funded much of its missile program using “crypto crime proceeds” in addition to funding Hamas
He argued that these digital assets serve illegal activities, such as money laundering and funding for terrorist activities. Dimon suggested that if he had government power, he would choose to shut down the crypto sector.
“The real use cases [of crypto] are criminals, drug dealers, money laundering, tax evasion,” Dimon told lawmakers during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Dimon Calls Bitcoin a Fraud
Dimon's scathing comments on crypto and Bitcoin are not the first time this has happened, previously in 2017 he even called Bitcoin a fraud and criticized his son for buying the asset.
He also once questioned whether Bitcoin's supply would be limited to 21 million coins, saying: "Maybe it will hit 21 million and Satoshi's image will come out and laugh at you all."
Despite criticizing Bitcoin and decentralized cryptocurrencies, Dimon praises the underlying technology and his bank has used blockchain for projects such as JPM Coin, a digital coin that runs on a permissioned blockchain (a distributed ledger that is not publicly accessible like Ethereum or Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Dimon's opinion quickly sparked a reaction from the crypto community at X. They highlighted the number of times JP Morgan and other banks were fined by regulators for breaking the rules.
The community also firmly rejects Bitcoin being used by criminals, highlighting the fact that Bitcoin, in particular, operates on a transparent ledger and transactions can be easily traced.
Some government officials in the past, most notably former CIA Director Michael Morell, have argued that Bitcoin is actually a “godsend” for law enforcement, given how transparent it is.
