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Although the organization he runs is significantly more opened to the cryptocurrency world these days, JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, advised people to stay away from digital assets. Nevertheless, he admitted that institutional clients of the bank have shown a high demand for such products in recent months.
Stay Away From Crypto, Says Dimon
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase and Co has a somewhat controversial history with bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market. Back in 2017, amid the parabolic price increase, he called the primary digital asset a “fraud.”
Interestingly, he apologized for his comments a year later, but it seems that his opinion has not changed much still. After calling it “not my cup of tea” in 2020, Dimon had more harsh words in recent testimony to the US House Financial Services Committee.
In it, the billionaire outlined that his “personal advice to people is: stay away from it.” Furthermore, Dimon added that cryptocurrencies can’t compare with traditional fiat currencies and gold and warned: “buyers beware.”
He clarified that he was referring to bitcoin and other digital assets, not stablecoins and blockchain.
Nevertheless, Dimon concluded, “I don’t tell people how to spend their money, regardless of how I might personally feel about something.”
JPM Still Looks to Enter the Space
Apart from his personal views, JPM has been discussing ideas on how to enter the crypto market following the most recent boom. As such, Dimon highlighted the substantial interest from institutional customers, which is the primary reason why the largest US bank is reportedly considering offering an actively managed BTC fund.
“A lot of our clients are asking, ‘can we help them buy or sell cryptocurrency.’ And, we are investing in that as we speak.” – previously asserted Dimon.
It’s worth noting that JPM is far from the only giant US bank looking into ways to enter the digital asset space. The country’s oldest banking institution, BNY Mellon, launched cryptocurrency custodial services earlier this year.
Shortly after, Goldman Sachs followed the example and even filed to launch a Bitcoin ETF. Morgan Stanley has also undertaken a few initiatives, including filing to receive exposure for a dozen of its funds to bitcoin.
Featured Image Courtesy of CBS News
