J.P. Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon has changed his mind somewhat about bitcoin since September, saying in an interview airing Tuesday that he made a "mistake" when he called the cryptocurrency a "fraud."
However, he told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo in an extensive interview airing on her news program Tuesday that he's still "not interested that much in the subject at all."
"The blockchain is real. You can have crypto yen and dollars and stuff like that. ICOs, [initial coin offerings] you have to look at individually," Dimon said. "The bitcoin to me was always what the governments are gonna feel about bitcoin as it gets really big, and I just have a different opinion than other people."
In September, Dimon said during a Barclays investment conference that trading the virtual currency is against his bank's rules and that he'd fire anyone who trades in it.
"It won't end well," Dimon said at the conference. "They will eventually blow up. It's a fraud."
Bitcoin was created anonymously in 2009, and is a virtual currency earned by people using their computers to compete to solve complex math puzzles.
Dimon also talked in the interview about the criticism President Donald Trump is getting, including questions about his ability to serve in office.
"I don't like the politics of people insulting each other at all, from anyone ever," said Dimon. "It makes me kind of angry, particularly when you have the kicking people down and all of that. It makes me uncomfortable. What I focus on is policy. Policy, policy, policy, policy. I'm not going to get into personalities."
Dimon also addressed the new federal tax reform law, saying that the new 21 percent corporate rate, down from nearly 40 percent, is a "big deal."
"I'm surprised that people say an uncompetitive tax rate will be good for America," said Dimon.
"We were at 40 percent. Now, most of the world is 20 percent, and we were 40 percent . . . It was a huge disadvantage. You will see companies doing things in the short run like increasing wages and a bunch of stuff like that and bonuses."
JPMorgan Chase "may do something and announce sometime later," but meanwhile, over time the retained capital will be used to grow businesses, research and development, and it could lead to higher wages and competition, and will be "very good for Americans."
Rolling back bank regulations also will help the economy, said Dimon, as they caused "friction" that kept getting worse in many industries.
Bartiromo asked if the bank is poised to use the savings from the tax plan to increase dividends, buy stock and create new jobs, but Dimon said his bank's dividends will continue to go up as they have been, and remain steady and secure while using capital to grow.
This will "absolutely" translate to jobs, he continued.
"If we go to new cities and new states, we will be adding 10 to 12 people a branch," Dimon said. "If we are a successful company with innovation, on the internet, mobile bank or something like that, we have to add people in digital. We have added thousands of people in digital, all to serve our clients."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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