In a statement in 2017, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), expressed his strong opposition to the popular cryptocurrency. Dimon referred to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) as a “fraud” and raised doubts about its long-term viability.
What Happened: Speaking at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor, Dimon dismissed Bitcoin as “not a real thing” and predicted its eventual demise.
He even mentioned that his own daughter had purchased some Bitcoin, indicating the widespread appeal of the digital currency during the surge that saw it skyrocket by over 300% that year.
"My daughter bought Bitcoin, it went up and now she thinks she's a genius.”
While clarifying that his comments were not investment advice, Dimon had made a comparison to the tulip bulb craze in the 17th century, suggesting that the Bitcoin frenzy was even worse and unlikely to end well. "It's worse than tulip bulbs. It won't end well. Someone is going to get killed," Dimon said.
Dimon’s skepticism towards Bitcoin extended to JPMorgan itself. He expressed a zero-tolerance policy towards Bitcoin trading among JPMorgan traders, stating that he would “fire in a second” any staff member found engaging in Bitcoin transactions.
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Why It Matters: If you had invested $100 on September 12, 2017, the day Dimon made his comments when Bitcoin was trading at $4,105, the investment would have grown by an astounding 534.54%, resulting in an exit amount of $634.54.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $26,048, down 0.19% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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