J.P.Morgan Chase JPM CEO Jamie Dimon pledged "this is the last time I ever talk about this" when speaking to CNBC on Wednesday about Bitcoin BTC/USD in Davos, Switzerland.
Dimon has been a prominent critic of Bitcoin, slamming it for alleged use cases like "sex trafficking, tax avoidance, anti-money laundering." He rattled off the same list of use cases in the interview, but also stated, "Blockchain is real, it’s a technology, we use it."
He distinguished between "two types" of cryptocurrencies. The first being cryptocurrencies that have "embedded smart contracts," allowing users to "buy and sell real estate and move data. That may have value," according to Dimon.
He expressed support for cryptocurrencies with use cases involving "tokenizing things that you do something with." That echoes the words of BlackRock BLK CEO Larry Fink, who predicted the "the tokenization of every financial asset."
"Don't Get Involved" With "The Pet Rock," Warns Dimon
Dimon referred to the second type of cryptocurrency as "the one that does nothing." He called it "the pet rock" and advised viewers once again not to get involved with it.
However, the JPMorgan CEO also said, "I defend your right to do Bitcoin. I don’t want to tell you what to do, it’s a free country."
Referring to the limited supply of Bitcoin, which is to mirror the properties of gold, Dimon said he doubted the finality of the 21 million Bitcoin supply maximum, saying: "I think there's a good chance, when we get to that 20 million bitcoins...Satashi [sic] is going to come on there, laugh hysterically, go quiet, and all Bitcoins [are] going to be erased. How the hell [do] you know it’s going to stop at 21?"
He also doubled down on his prediction that "if you can’t solve the bad use cases, the government’s probably going to have to close it down." Adding that he likes to "own things that pay me incomes [sic] and doesn’t cost money to carry."
Overall, Dimon summed up his entire opinion of Bitcoin with the words, "I don't care. So just please stop talking about this s--t."
Bitcoin Community Scoffs At "Satashi" Remark, Defies Dimon's Opinion
Cryptocurrency observers on social media picked up on Dimon's mispronunciation of Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto, with one user saying "smart people can say some very dumb things."
Dimon also received backlash from the Bitcoin community.
Dylan LeClair, Director of Market Intelligence at UTXO Management, commented: "the use case is ABSOLUTE SCARCITY."
Will Clemente, co-founder of Reflexivity Research, described finding Dimon's "lack of basic understanding" as "pretty wild" and "a bit embarrassing frankly. He questioned whether Dimon had spent "any material amount of time" looking into Bitcoin.
While not new, Dimon's opinions on Bitcoin continue to diverge from those of other prominent figures in finance, such as BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood.
Whether it really is the last time the Dimon comments on Bitcoin remains to be seen.
Photo: Courtesy of FORTUNE Global Forum from flickr.
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