JP Morgan CEO "I Will Never Buy Bitcoin"

"US Interest Rate Cut After June"

"Personally, I will never buy Bitcoin."

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, known as the 'Emperor of Wall Street,' expressed a still negative stance on Bitcoin, which is hitting all-time highs. He also suggested that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would lower interest rates after June.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 12th (local time), Dimon attended the Australian Financial Review Business Summit via video and said, "I don't know what Bitcoin itself is for." He added, "I defend the right to smoke cigarettes. I will also defend the right to buy Bitcoin," but reiterated his personal position that he would never purchase it.

Dimon, considered a leading Bitcoin skeptic, has long criticized Bitcoin for being used in prostitution, tax evasion, money laundering, and terrorist financing, saying "it will not end well." The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been soaring past $72,000 per coin, fueled by positive factors such as Fed's interest rate cut expectations, Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading, and the halving event scheduled for April.

Along with this, Dimon emphasized that the Fed should be cautious about cutting interest rates. He said, "I think they should rely on data," and added, "If I were them, I would wait (without cutting rates)." He continued, "(The Fed) can quickly and significantly cut rates at any time," but "right now, their credibility is at risk, so if I were them, I would wait until after June when everything is resolved."

According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch, the federal funds (FF) futures market currently reflects nearly an 80% chance that the Fed will keep rates steady at the current 5.25?5.5% level until May. The probability of a rate cut in June is confirmed at around 60%.

Dimon said the U.S. economy is enjoying a slight boom and that the world estimates a 70?80% chance of a soft landing, but he did not completely rule out recession risks. He said, "The probability of a soft landing within one to two years is fifty-fifty," and "the worst case is stagflation." This is a more optimistic stance compared to his previous remarks that a 'hurricane' would hit the U.S. Dimon has warned that geopolitical tensions in places like Ukraine and the Gaza Strip would burden global economic growth. On this day, he also diagnosed that the stock market rally confirmed since the second half of last year shows some signs of a bubble.

Regarding the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November, he said it is difficult to predict the winner. Dimon described it as "going to be a circus" and defined former President Donald Trump as an unpredictable figure. Having supported former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley rather than Trump in the Republican primary, he said, "I hope former President Trump becomes a much more thoughtful, reasonable, and fair speaker in foreign policy."