“I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etc.,” Dimon told Sen. Elizabeth Warren, during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
“The only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers … money laundering, tax avoidance.”
His words were music to the ears of Warren, who is trying to impose restrictions to combat illicit transactions in digital payments.
Dimon agreed with other banking CEOs called to testify that crypto companies should face the same anti-money-laundering regulations as the major financial institutions.
The JPMorgan chief, who has previously dismissed crypto as a fraud and a "decentralised ponzi scheme", went further, telling Warren: “If I was the government, I’d close it down.”
Behind the harsh words, JPMorgan is utilising the technology behind bitcoin to upend industry standard practices via its blockchain-based Onyx unit. The firm has also launched its own token, JPM Coin, which is currently moving over $1 billion per day.