JPMorgan Chase (JPM) chief executive officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon has renewed his attacks on cryptocurrencies, calling for the U.S. government to shutdown trading in digital assets.
At a Senate hearing In Washington, D.C., Dimon said: “I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, Bitcoin, etc. If I was the government, I’d close it down.”
Dimon and seven other bank CEOs said that cryptocurrency companies should be required to adhere to the same anti-money-laundering rules as banks, noting that crypto is often used for illegal activities such as money laundering and financing terrorist groups.
For years, Dimon has sharply criticized Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. In 2017, the CEO of the world’s largest bank said that people “stupid enough to buy crypto” would ultimately “pay the price.”
Yet while politicians and regulators continue to threaten that they will bring in new laws to govern crypto, there are currently no specific rules pertaining to digital coins and tokens.
Dimon’s latest attack on crypto comes as Bitcoin and other digital tokens rally on expectations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Bitcoin’s price has increased 160% this year and currently trades at $43,000 U.S.
