JPMorgan chief rues calling Bitcoin a ‘fraud’

Remember that day when Jamie Dimon went on a tirade against Bitcoin? Well, the JPMorgan Chase chief does, and said he “regrets” calling the cryptocurrency a fraud.

In September, the bank executive told an investor conference in New York that Bitcoin “won’t end well” and threatened to fire any JPMorgan employee who will trade the cryptocurrency, which he described as “worse than tulip bulbs.”

Dimon has apparently seen the foolishness of his remarks, telling FOX Business Network on Tuesday that he “regrets making” the comments against Bitcoin, although he is personally “not interested that much in the subject at all.”

“The Bitcoin to me was always what the governments are going to feel about Bitcoin as it gets really big, and I just have a different opinion than other people,” Dimon said.

It’s worth noting despite calling Bitcoin a “fraud,” Dimon thinks its underlying technology—blockchain—can be useful in the future.

“The blockchain is real. You can have crypto yen and dollars and stuff like that,” he said.

No changes, just regrets

Many people have interpreted Dimon’s recent statement as proof that the bank executive is softening towards Bitcoin. Peter Smith, CEO of cryptocurrency wallet and exchange Blockchain.info, tweeted that it “looks like Jamie has started the conversion process to the church of crypto.” He also predicted that in another 12 months, “@jpmorgan will be full steam ahead on crypto.”

But contrary to popular belief, Dimon’s recent comments didn’t mean that the JPMorgan’s head honcho has already changed his views on Bitcoin. In fact, Dimon’s Tuesday statement mirrored the one he made in October, when he said that he “could care less about Bitcoin.”

“When I made that ‘stupid statement’ [calling Bitcoin a] fraud, my daughter sent me an email saying, ‘Dad I own two bitcoins.’ My formerly smart daughter,” Dimon said at the time, according to a CNBC report. “This is the last time I’m ever going to answer questions about Bitcoin because I really don’t care.”

The recent remarks also echoed the statements he has made over the years. The banker, after all, has been an outspoken nemesis of Bitcoin who predicted in 2015 that the cryptocurrency wouldn’t survive. Several years later, and surprise, surprise—Bitcoin is still here and is starting to attract mainstream attention. And Dimon still couldn’t stop talking about it.