Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan, is currently the most vocal critic of Bitcoin on Wall Street, but legendary investor Warren Buffett appears to be not far behind him.
Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett spent most of this week together. The two billionaires published a joint editorial in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that attempted to explain why the short-term approach to public company quarterly earnings is hurting the economy.
On Thursday, Dimon and Buffett appeared on CNBC, where they were reminded of their critics of Bitcoin.
“You've both been saying some pretty nasty things about Bitcoin lately,” the host said, adding, “So which one of you hates it more?”
“I set high standards,” said Warren Buffett, Berkshire chairman and CEO Hathway. The business mogul has made many barbs about Bitcoin in the past, calling it a “real bubble,” suggesting that “cryptocurrencies are going to end badly,” and equating investing in Bitcoin with gambling. However, the very phrase that really brought him notoriety was “Bitcoin is rat poison squared.”
“So I don’t think Jamie can beat me,” Buffett added.
Answering the same question, Daimon surprisingly didn't even say anything disgusting. He said:
“You know, I don't want to promote Bitcoin by talking about it. But believe me, it's worth watching out for.”
Dimon has been one of Bitcoin's most vocal critics for years. In 2015, among other remarks, he called cryptocurrency a “waste of time.” In September 2017, Dimon branded Bitcoin a “fraud,” and he has regretted that statement ever since.
JP Morgan's SEC filing in 2017 revealed that the bank privately accepted cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as a threat to its business model.
“I would fire them all in a second,” Dimon said of JP Morgan traders involved in cryptocurrency trading last year. "For two reasons: because it's against our rules and because it's stupid. And besides, it's also dangerous."
As it turns out, exactly eight months after the “fraud” announcement, Dimon tasked the head of JP Morgan's fintech program to begin developing a cryptocurrency strategy for bank..
According to ccn
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