JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon calls Bitcoin 'worthless'; 'Trading it like smoking cigarettes'

JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon has made it clear in the past that he is no fan of Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value. He has now reiterated his sentiment on Bitcoin, calling it "worthless" and comparing its trading to smoking cigarettes. 

Despite Bitcoin's impressive showing over the past few weeks, Dimon strongly disagrees that cryptocurrency can be a serious investment. He also believes that cryptocurrency, as an asset class should be regulated by the government.

"I personally think that Bitcoin is worthless. But I don't want to be a spokesman for that, I don't care. It makes no difference to me. "I don't think you should smoke cigarettes either. That said, the largest bank in the US will offer its clients exposure to Bitcoin," stated Dimon, while briefly speaking at the annual Institute of International Finance event on Monday.

"Our clients are adults. They disagree. That's what makes markets. If they want to have access to buy or sell bitcoin – we can't custody it – but we can give them legitimate, as clean as possible access," he added.

Dimon has been a vocal critic of Bitcoin, previously calling it a "fraud" and "fool's gold". At one point, he went on to say that he would fire JPMorgan traders if they traded in it. However, despite his strong skepticism, JPMorgan started offering its Bitcoin-hungry clients access to a half dozen cryptocurrency products in July 2021.

'Investors Preferring Bitcoin Over Gold'

Talking about Bitcoin, JP Morgan Chase said on Tuesday that the cryptocurrency, which is continually growing in valuation, is being seen by investors as a better hedge against inflation than gold.

Investors had earlier stated that the cryptocurrency promises quicker returns than gold and was easily storable for a future value. However, Bitcoin remains highly volatile as it is still part of an unregulated market. The cryptocurrency was trading at $56,480 as of 9 am on October 11.

“Institutional investors appear to be returning to Bitcoin, perhaps seeing it as a better inflation hedge than gold,” JP Morgan's note reportedly read. “There are tentative signs that the previous shift away from gold into bitcoin seen during most of Q4 2020 and the beginning of 2021 has started re-emerging in recent weeks,” it added.