Jamie Dimon, the billionaire chairman of JP Morgan has called Bitcoin a fraudulent scheme and the equivalent of a pet rock as financial chiefs are turning against digital currencies.
In comments made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Dimon described cryptocurrencies as a “waste” of time.
He said that the technology behind Bitcoin, also known as Blockchain, could be used. This type of digital ledger, which is hard to hack or alter, allows for the creation of a public record that records transactions.
He stated that “Blockchain” is a ledger system used to transfer information… and money. We believe it will be easily deployed.
CNBC’s Dimon said that he could see the US Federal Reserve raising interest rate to 5pc, as central bankers struggle to control raging inflation.
Dimon stated that he believes rates will rise to more than 5pc. There is a lot of underlying inflation, which will not go away quickly.”
The US Federal Reserve has forecast rates that will go up from about 4.5pc to around 5pc by year’s end and stay there.
As financial institutions struggle to cope with the collapse of FTX (the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world), Mr Dimon’s comments about Bitcoin are timely. was accused of fraud.
Blackrock, a venture capital fund, and Sequoia were among the financial giants that invested in the digital currency exchange founded by Sam Bankman Fried.
US authorities have arrested Mr Bankman-Fried and charged him with “massive fraud.” He is accused of siphoning customer money to purchase luxury properties and to support losses at a crypto-hedge fund. He has pleaded guilty.
The price of Bitcoin plummeted by more than 60% last year due to a sell-off in cryptocurrencies that was accelerated by several scandals and crashes throughout the digital asset sector.
The price of digital currency has risen to £16,880 in 2023. This is 23% more than the January start.
