The Curious Case Of Bitcoin, Dimon And JPMorgan

Since Sept. 1, the price of bitcoin has plummeted 26.3 percent amid negative headlines out of China and bearish commentary from notable Wall Street investors. On Sept. 22, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM CEO Jamie Dimon doubled down on his anti-bitcoin rhetoric, but JPMorgan has actually been buying bitcoin on the September dip.

On Sept. 19, Dimon called bitcoin a “fraud.”

“It’s just not a real thing, eventually it will be closed,” Dimon said at the Delivering Alpha conference.

On the 22nd, Dimon again bashed bitcoin in an interview with CNBC.

“It’s creating something out of nothing that to me is worth nothing,” Dimon said. “It will end badly.”

Ironically, the image below, originally tweeted by @IamNomad, suggests JPMorgan has been buying shares of the Bitcoin Tracker One exchange-traded note in Sweden. The image indicates JPMorgan has recently been the fourth largest buyer of the ETN.

We see you @jpmorgan $btc pic.twitter.com/tDSVLNHnmi

— I am Nomad (@IamNomad) September 15, 2017
 

According to Zero Hedge, this buying suggests either Dimon is talking down bitcoin to get JPMorgan a better price or the firm is buying bitcoin for clients despite the CEO’s belief that it is a worthless investment.

A company called Blockwater has filed a lawsuit against Dimon and JPMorgan in Sweden following his recent remarks. The lawsuit alleges that Dimon has knowingly been spreading false and misleading information about bitcoin.

Since Dimon’s original comments on Sept. 19, the Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC is down another 4.8 percent.

Related Link: Dalio Calls Bitcoin A Bubble