Billionaire JP Morgan chairman Jamie Dimon has called Bitcoin a “hyped scam” and the financial equivalent of “pet rock” as finance chiefs turn their backs on digital currencies. calling.
In his comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Dimon called cryptocurrencies a “waste of time.”
However, he said the technology behind Bitcoin, known as blockchain, could have applications. This kind of digital ledger is designed to be difficult to tamper with or hack, and can create a public record of transactions.
“Blockchain is a ledger system that we use to move information…to move money. It’s a technology that we think will become deployable.”
Dimon told CNBC that he could expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates above 5% as central banks struggle to stem rampant inflation.
Dimon says: There is a lot of underlying inflation and it won’t go away anytime soon.”
The US Federal Reserve expects interest rates to rise from about 4.5% to about 5% by the end of the year and remain there.
Dimon’s comments on Bitcoin come at a time when financial institutions are red-faced by the collapse of FTX, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, over fraud allegations.
Financial giants such as BlackRock and venture capital fund Sequoia invested in the digital currency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried.
Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged with “massive” fraud by US authorities. He allegedly siphoned his clients’ money to buy luxury properties and covered the losses with a cryptocurrency hedge fund. he pleaded not guilty.
Last year, the price of Bitcoin plummeted by more than 60% amid a cryptocurrency selloff fueled by a series of scandals and the collapse of the entire digital asset industry.
However, as of 2023, digital currency prices are recovering. 1 Bitcoin is currently worth £16,880, up 23% since the beginning of January.
