Just a day after saying he wasn't talking about Bitcoin anymore Jamie Dimon went on a rant where he called Bitcoin users stupid among other things. He is looking more and more like a scared animal backed into a corner as even his own daughter invests in Bitcoin. His statements were filled with self-serving contradictions. Here are some of the quotes from his speech at the Alpha Conference and what I think they really mean.
- “I could care less about bitcoin.”
Translation: I'm really threatened by Bitcoin
- “The blockchain is a technology which is a good technology. We actually use it. . . . God bless the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, I think are also fine. JPMorgan moves $16 trillion around the world every day, we don’t do it in cash, it’s done digitally. If it can be done digitally with the blockchain, so be it. But it will still be a dollar cryptocurrency.”
Translation: Obviously I know how valuable Bitcoin is. Otherwise we wouldn't be copying it's technology and trying to steal it's thunder. I want to divide and conquer by saying blockchain technology and the cryptocurrencies we're involved with are valuable and at the same time poo-poo on Bitcoin. I don't like Bitcoin because it makes me and my company totally useless in the long run. My nightmare is for the majority of that 16 Trillion to flow into Bitcoin. We have to protect our global monopoly.
- “What I have an issue with is a non-fiat cryptocurrency,”
Translation: I feel REALLY REALLY threatened by Bitcoin
4.“I don’t personally understand the value of something that has no actual value. You all can do whatever you want and I don’t care. I could care less what bitcoin trades for, how it trades, why it trades, who trades it. If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day. . . . The only value of bitcoin is what the other guy will pay for it.”
Translation: I have conveniently pushed to the back of my mind that fiat currency has no actual value and is worth even less than 0 because we lend out up to 100 times more than we actually have and it's only value is what the other guy will pay for it. Now that everybody's on to us, that value is decreasing by the day. Please don't abandon our system! We need you! Please buy our debt based currency! Please!! Our house of cards could collapse at any time and I feel REALLY REALLY REALLY threatened by Bitcoin!!!
I think his comments are actually helping Bitcoin at this point because they reveal his fear of Bitcoin and how weak the argument against Bitcoin/for fiat is. What if anything do you think his comments mean for Bitcoin?