Reported by PAOLO CONFINO

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is done talking about Bitcoin—again. 

In a CNBC interview from Davos, a visibly amused Dimon declared he was swearing off opining about the crypto currency. When asked about the new Bitcoin ETF the Securities and Exchange Commission approved last week, Dimon interrupted CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin, also of The New York Times, to say: 

“So this is an important thing, this is the last time I’m ever going to talk about this on CNBC—so help me God,” Dimon said to laughs from studio hosts Sorkin, Joe Kernen, and Becky Quick.

That sort of exasperation has become a Dimon staple when discussing Bitcoin. He’s been saying he’ll never talk about Bitcoin again since as far back as 2017.  

Dimon continued his criticism of Bitcoin, saying “it does nothing.” 

“I call it the pet rock,” he said. 

Dimon then corrected himself to say he did think Bitcoin did actually have some uses. They just all happened to be illegal such as money laundering, fraud, tax avoidance, or as payment for sex trafficking, he said. 

There is evidence to support Dimon’s claim. The Government Accountability Office found that 15 of the 27 online commercial sex websites it examined in a June 2021 report accepted digital currencies. While the U.N. issued warnings that cryptocurrency platforms are often used for money laundering by criminal groups in Southeast Asia. 

Despite these concerns, the market for cryptocurrencies has been exceptionally strong in recent years after a near-death experience during 2022’s “crypto winter.” In 2023, the market capitalization for the entire crypto industry grew 95%, although it’s still down 35% from its all-time high during the pandemic. Also, the SEC’s recent ETF approval is a signal that crypto is becoming a legitimate financial asset. And despite Dimon’s objections to owning cryptocurrency himself, many retail investors do. A study from 2022 found that 36% of millennials and 20% of total adults own cryptocurrencies.

Read full report: https://fortune.com/2024/01/17/jamie-dimon-bitcoin-davos-pet-rock-jpmorgan-blackrock-larry-fink-crypto/amp/