JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said blockchain will have a pivotal role in the future of finance even if bitcoin, the market-leading cryptocurrency that made blockchain famous, is not his âcup of tea.â
Speaking at the New York Timesâ DealBook Conference Wednesday, Dimon reiterated JPMorganâs support for blockchain technology as a potentially transformative financial mechanism.
âThe blockchain itself will be critical to letting people move money around the world cheaper,â he said. (His bank made waves recently with the launch of its âJPM Coinâ for wholesale banking payments). âWe will always support blockchain technology.â
But Dimon refused to give ground on his opposition to bitcoin.
He repeated his longstanding belief that governments will ultimately more heavily regulate it (something echoed recently by fellow billionaire Ray Dalio). Oversight is inevitable for something so large, he said.
Even so, Dimon acknowledged that âvery smart peopleâ are buying into the cryptocurrency in the belief that it will outperform gold, the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury bonds.
âLet them do that,â he said. âItâs just not my cup of tea.â