Jamie Dimon said Bitcoin is a terrible store of money and going forward the virtual currency would face major regulatory challenges.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) chief Jamie Dimon believes Bitcoin’s standing as a currency will eventually end.
Terrible store of money
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) said Bitcoin is a ‘terrible store of money’ and questioned its legal status over allegations that it is used to fund illegal activities. He felt it doesn’t have the standing of a government and felt a lot of it is being used for illicit purposes.
Interestingly, Jamie Dimon’s comments come after JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) recently filed a US patent application for a computerized payment system, which would allow users to make anonymous transactions, that some claim is similar to the cyptocurrency.
U.S. Treasury Secretary concurs
Bitcoin was quite unknown about a year ago except for a small band of enthusiastic libertarians, techies, and alleged drug traffickers. However, it has grown larger recently, so much so that it gets talked about at the big Capitalismpalooza called the World Economic Forum at Davos.
When U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew was also asked for his opinion on the virtual currency, he also talked it down and harped on its use in drug trafficking.
Jamie Dimon believes Bitcoin could be replicated over and over and it doesn’t have government backing. He noted that banks are under tremendous pressure to know who their customers are and to flag possible money launderers and with Bitcoin, he felt that’s impossible.
However, Jamie Dimon doesn’t think the virtual currency will go away altogether. He indicated they will eventually be made as a payment system to follow the same standards as the other payment systems and that will probably be the end of them.
Recently regulators in Europe even issued a warning about the digital currency, warning investors about the dangers associated with investing in Bitcoin. Recent report from Rebecca Burn-Callander of The Telegraph examined several reasons Bitcoin just might be the most dangerous currency in the world.
