Bitcoin
Trump Says JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon No Longer Critical of Bitcoin, Considers Him for Treasury
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said JP Morgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon “changed his mind” on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, adding that he is willing to nominate the executive as Treasury Secretary.
Trump revealed the longtime Bitcoin critic’s softer stance during a interview with Bloomberg, where also appealed to the US to maintain dominance about the crypto sector. Notably, the statements were made in June, despite the interview being published recently.
Trump told the news agency:
“I’ve met people in the industry, they’re top-notch people. And you ask Jamie Dimon, Jamie Dimon was, you know, very negative and now all of a sudden he’s changed his tune a little bit.”
In the same interview, Bloomberg asked Trump if he would select Dimon as Treasury Secretary. Trump responded:
“He’s someone I would consider, for sure.”
Trump described a June meeting with Dimon and other executives from major U.S. companies as coinciding with meetings with Republican members of Congress and the Senate. Trump said JPM’s CEO was present and expressed “great respect” for the bank executive.
In 2016, Fortune reported that Trump’s transition team offered the position to Dimon during his first term. However, Dimon ultimately declined the role.
Most recently, in December 2023, Axios reported in the possibility of Dimon heading the Treasury, citing sources close to the Trump campaign.
The evolution of Dimon’s stance
Dimon has long been a critic of Bitcoin and crypto. Already in 2017he called Bitcoin a “fraud” and said he would fire any JP Morgan trader who traded the asset.
Earlier this year, he repeated his belief that cryptocurrency is a Ponzi scheme It is advanced severe criticism from Bitcoin mining. However, a few months later, in March, he also said he would “defend” the right to buy and hold Bitcoin even if he didn’t, suggesting a softer stance.
Despite his negative statements about crypto, Dimon has been an avid supporter of the underlying blockchain technology. In 2022, he express support for DeFi and blockchain, calling each area a “real new technology” in a letter to JP Morgan shareholders.
JP Morgan is at the forefront of experimentation with distributed ledger technology and has several blockchain-based products, including its Liink network and JPM Coin.