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Edited by Kabir903 at 22-12-2023 04:53 AM
Recently, with the growing expectations of a Fed rate cut, risk assets including cryptocurrencies have experienced a strong rebound. Some industry experts even claim that a new bull market for Bitcoin has begun.
Amid the robust rebound in crypto assets, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, widely recognized as the ""Wall Street king,"" once again criticized cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, and suggested banning them during a speech on Capitol Hill. ""I have always been strongly against cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, etc. Its only real use is for criminals, drug dealers... money laundering, tax evasion. If I were the government, I would shut it down,"" he added.
In response to further questioning from Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Dimon, along with several other major bank CEOs, stated that cryptocurrency companies should face the same anti-money laundering regulations as major financial institutions.
This marks a rare consensus between banking leaders and Warren, who is also a critic of the cryptocurrency industry. Warren stated that, in terms of banking policy, she usually does not agree with bank CEOs, but ""this is an issue of national security. Cryptocurrencies should be banned for terrorists, drug traffickers, and rogue nations to prevent dangerous activities. It's time for Congress to take action.""
Longtime Critic
Despite JPMorgan making significant investments in blockchain technology, one of its most important applications being cryptocurrencies, Dimon has consistently criticized cryptocurrencies. In a previous statement, he referred to Bitcoin as ""an overhyped fraud,"" but later retracted that comment. He also compared Bitcoin to a ""pet rock.""
Cryptocurrency Rebound
Before Dimon's recent remarks, the cryptocurrency industry experienced a tumultuous year, including the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, where former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud in November, and another major cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, was fined $4.3 billion for violating anti-money laundering laws.
Recently, as U.S. inflation eased and investors increasingly believed that the Fed's interest rate hikes were over, speculative trading around cryptocurrencies intensified. Bitcoin rapidly surpassed $42,000, marking a year-to-date increase of over 150%. Bitcoin is expected to achieve its largest annual gain since 2020.
Some optimistic forecasters even shout that Bitcoin will break the $100,000 mark in 2024. |
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