Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, told the senators in the United States in a congressional hearing how he would have closed down cryptocurrencies if he was a part of the government.
Highlighting that he has always opposed Bitcoin and cryptos in general, the executive mentioned how the true users of cryptocurrencies are drug traffickers, criminals, people involved with tax avoidance, and money launderers.
Jamie Dimon Wants To Shut Down Crypto:
When Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator, questioned Dimon about why cryptos are a lucrative tool for any criminal, Dimon said, “I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etc. You pointed out the true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers, anti-money laundering, and tax avoidance. That is a use case because it is somewhat anonymous, not fully, and because you can move money instantaneously because it doesn’t go through all these systems built up over many years: Know Your Customer [KYC], sanctions, OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] — they can bypass all of that. If I were the government, I’d close it down.”
Senator Warren claimed, “Today’s terrorists have a new way to get around the Bank Secrecy Act — cryptocurrency. I’m not usually holding hands with the CEOs of multibillion-dollar banks, but this is a matter of national security.”
Dimona has expressed skepticism about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general for a long time. Previously, he had mentioned how cryptos are nothing but “decentralized Ponzi schemes.” In January, he called BTC “a hyped-up fraud,” likening the crypto to a pet rock.
He also said that Satoshi Nakamoto, BTC’s pseudonymous creator, could eliminate the supply limit of the crypto.
Crypto Supporters Enraged:
Now, crypto supporters have responded to the testimony of Dimon, expressing on X that he doesn’t understand Bitcoin or cryptos in general, and that is probably why he is talking about shutting it down.
Many even said that fiat money and banks are more commonly used by criminals, as compared to cryptos. Gabor Gurbacs, the director of digital assets at Vaneck, said, “Since 2000, regulators fined banks 7,400+ times, totaling fines of $380+ billion. Banks should stay silent. JPMorgan Chase parent company is the second most penalized financial institution with close to $40 billion in fines for 272 violations since 2000. Jamie Dimon is in no position to criticize bitcoin with this sort of track record. They should start the hearing with these stats.”
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