Jamie Dimon calls bitcoin a 'fraud' and a 'Ponzi scheme' — and says the crypto is hopeless as a currency
Bitcoin is a "fraud" and "Ponzi scheme" and cannot serve as a currency, Jamie Dimon said.
The JPMorgan CEO said cryptos that enable smart contracts and blockchain apps might have value.
Dimon has dismissed bitcoin as a "pet rock" in the past and slammed it for enabling criminals.
Bitcoin is a scam and fails as a currency, Jamie Dimon said.
"If you mean crypto like bitcoin, I've always said it's a fraud," the JPMorgan CEO told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.
"If they think they're a currency, there's no hope for it. It's a Ponzi scheme," he added.
However, the billionaire banker did say tokens that serve a purpose may not be worthless.
"If it's a crypto coin that can do something like a smart contract, that has value," he said. "There will be smart contracts, and blockchain works — to the extent crypto is accessing certain blockchain things, yeah, that might have some value."
Dimon has trashed bitcoin repeatedly in recent years. He's compared it to smoking a cigarette, said it's "dangerous" to own, urged people not to buy it, and called on governments to ban it.
The Wall Street heavyweight has also decried the most popular crypto as a "waste of time," a "hyped-up fraud," and a "pet rock."
Moreover, he's bemoaned the anonymity it provides and the lack of regulation around its use, saying it enables crimes such as fraud, tax avoidance, money laundering, sex and drug trafficking, and terrorism financing.
Dimon may be vehemently opposed to bitcoin, but that hasn't stopped it from hitting record highs — albeit with plenty of volatility on the way.
The token's price soared from $10,000 in September 2020 to more than $65,000 in November 2021, then crashed to about $16,000 over the next year.
However, it rebounded above $70,000 last month and now trades around the $63,000 mark, giving it a market value of $1.2 trillion.
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