- JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon reiterated his opposition to cryptocurrencies during a congressional hearing.
- He said the industry allows for criminal activity and needs to be regulated.
- Cryptocurrencies saw a major rally last week, with Bitcoin hitting $44,000 for the first time since 2022 on Wednesday.
Cryptocurrencies may be on the rise, but the heads of America's largest banks still don't believe the hype.
In a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, Jamie Dimon reiterated that he strongly opposes space and called on the government to take stronger action on regulating space.
“If I were the government, I would stop it,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told lawmakers.
“I've always been a staunch opponent of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, etc.,” he said in response to a Democratic senator's question. Elizabeth Warren hired. According to him, the real use of this group of assets is to support criminal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering and tax evasion.
That's because ownership of digital assets is partly anonymous and their use does not depend on a well-regulated traditional financial system, Dimon said.
Daemon's disdain for cryptocurrencies is well known; In a statement this year, he compared bitcoin to a “pet rock” and dismissed it as worthless.
His comments reflect a skeptical view of US regulators, particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission. Under Gary Gensler's leadership, the organization took aggressive action against the industry this year following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2022.
The skepticism extends beyond the United States, where the European Central Bank recently noted that its current regulatory framework leaves room for crypto activity to evade scrutiny.
Despite regulators' stance, the cryptocurrency has rallied in the second half of the year. The outlook for Bitcoin has become very optimistic, with many forecasters pointing to a new all-time high of six figures in 2024 based on spot approvals of Bitcoin ETFs and expectations of a Bitcoin halving in the near future.
During November, cryptocurrency trading volume on Robinhood increased nearly 75%, and on Wednesday, bitcoin hit its highest level of the year at $43,935.
During the hearing, Dimon, along with other bank CEOs, agreed with Senator Warren that anti-money laundering regulations facing traditional lenders should also apply to cryptocurrency companies.
“When it comes to banking policy, I don't usually shake hands with CEOs of billion-dollar banks, but this is a national security issue. Terrorists, drug traffickers and rogue states must be prohibited from using cryptocurrencies for their dangerous purposes.” Activities said Warren.