Jamie Dimon on the cryptocurrency trade: “I’d close it down” | USAEMALL.com

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon advised lawmakers on Wednesday that he would pull the plug on the cryptocurrency trade if he had the facility. 

“I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etcetera,” he mentioned in response to a query from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D.-Mass., about using cryptocurrencies by terrorists, drug traffickers and rogue nations to finance their actions. “If I was the governments, I’d close it down.”

Dimon, regarded by many as America’s most distinguished banker, mentioned dangerous actors use digital currencies to launder cash and dodge taxes, noting that cryptocurrency stays largely unregulated and laborious to hint. He has lengthy criticized the rising crypto sector, as soon as calling it a “fraud” and likening it to historic monetary manias.

Warren mentioned the nation’s banking legal guidelines have to be up to date, however that lobbyists for the crypto trade are working to dam laws to tighten guidelines on digital currencies, together with compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act. 

Dimon’s feedback observe a tumultuous 12 months for the crypto trade, together with the November conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried, the previous CEO of bankrupt change FTC on a number of counts of fraud, and a $4.3 billion settlement with one other main change, Binance, for its violation of anti-money laundering and U.S. authorities sanctions.

Dimon and different main financial institution CEOs, who had been on Capitol Hill Wednesday for a Senate listening to on regulating Wall Street, testified that their establishments have controls in place to detect and halt illicit crypto transactions.

Warren, a famous critic of Wall Street, urged the assembled monetary executives to assist the “Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023,” a invoice that might lengthen and toughen banking legal guidelines to forestall using crypto for cash laundering, ransomware assaults, monetary fraud and different unlawful actions. 

Despite requires a authorities crackdown, the value of the world’s most vital cryptocurrency — bitcoin — has surged greater than 150% this 12 months to just about $44,000, in response to worth tracker CoinDesk.