JPMorgan CEO says Bitcoin should be closed down, citing criminal use concerns

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Today, CEOs of some of the nation’s largest banks faced the Senate Banking Committee for an annual hearing amid uncertain regulations in the crypto space. While giving testimony, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon made a statement about Bitcoin, saying “if I was the government, I would close it down.”

https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/1732452008266002502

His comments came in response to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s question about why cryptocurrencies are an attractive tool for criminals. Dimon replied,

“I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, Bitcoin, etc. You pointed out a true use case for it is criminal – drug traffickers, anti-money laundering, tax avoidance.”

Dimon explained that Bitcoin’s pseudo-anonymity, instant money transfers, and lack of compliance with OFAC, systems for vetting customers (KYC), screening sanctions, and detecting money laundering.

Warren also asked the CEOs of major banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and others if crypto companies should have to follow the same anti-money laundering rules banks are subject to. All CEOs replied “absolutely.”

Along with Dimon, other witnesses testifying included Wells Fargo’s Charlie Scharf, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, BNY Mellon’s Robin Vince, Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman, and State Street’s Ronald O’Hanley.

While Dimon has referred to himself as a “major skeptic” of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the past, calling them “decentralized Ponzi schemes,” his firm JPMorgan has slowly increased its blockchain and digital currency operations.

JPMorgan developed its stablecoin, JPM Coin, in 2020 to improve wholesale payments, which it says now process $1 billion daily.

Last month, the bank enabled automatic, programmable payments via JPM Coin for major clients like Siemens and FedEx.

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