Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has once again drawn a hard line in the sand between the underlying technology of digital assets and the speculative frenzy surrounding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
During at a conference held in Washington, DC, held earlier this Tuesday, the billionaire CEO stated that he believes in blockchain but rejects crypto speculation.
“When you talk about blockchain, we are a big user, we are the largest,” he said.
He believes the technology will be used for smart contracts and for moving money and data. “It will be very efficient and very capable,” Dimon added.
JPMorgan has backed this up with billions of dollars in daily transaction volume through its own blockchain platform, formerly Onyx (now rebranded as Kinexys). The bank also has a blockchain-based JPM Coin, which Dimon specifically mentioned during the event. The token is used to make cross-border payments, intraday repo loans and tokenized deposits.
Not a Bitcoin fan
For Dimon, blockchain is a compelling operational tool that can replace ‘clunky’ legacy systems.
In a January 2024 interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Dimon stated that Bitcoin is like a pet.
During a Senate Banking Committee hearing in December 2023, Dimon told lawmakers that Bitcoin is mainly used by criminals and drug traffickers.
At the Australian Financial Review’s business summit, he compared buying Bitcoin to smoking: “I don’t think you should smoke, but I will defend your right to smoke… I will defend your right to buy a Bitcoin,” he said.
AI as a disruptive force
Dimon has noted that most technologies take a long time to gain any traction.
However, currently, artificial intelligence is disrupting various industries at a much faster pace.
JPMorgan has fully embraced the technology, devoting large portions of its nearly $20 billion technology budget to AI development.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos in early 2026, he warned that the rollout of AI could happen “too fast for society,” warning of possible civil unrest.