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Trump Says JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Is No Longer a Bitcoin Critic, Considers Him for Treasury
Former President of the United States and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said the chairman and chief executive officer of JP Morgan Jamie Dimon has “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 softening stance during a interview with Bloomberg, where he also asked the United States to maintain its dominance on the cryptocurrency industry. Specifically, the statements were made in June, despite the interview only being published recently.
Trump told the news agency:
“I’ve gotten to know people in the industry, they’re high-level people. And you ask Jamie Dimon, Jamie Dimon was, you know, very negative and now all of a sudden he’s changed his mind a little bit.”
In the same interview, Bloomberg asked Trump if he might choose Dimon as Treasury Secretary. Trump responded:
“He’s someone I would consider, for sure.”
Trump described a June meeting with Dimon and other top U.S. corporate executives that coincided with meetings with Republican members of Congress and the Senate. Trump said the JPM CEO was present and expressed “a lot of respect” for the bank executive.
In 2016, the fortune reported that Trump’s transition team offered Dimon the position during his first term. However, Dimon ultimately declined the role.
Most recently, in December 2023, Axios reported on the possibility of Dimon heading the Treasury, citing sources close to the Trump campaign.
Dimon’s Evolving Position
Dimon has long been critical of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Already 2017called Bitcoin a “fraud” and said he would fire any JP Morgan trader who traded the asset.
Earlier this year, he reiterated his belief that cryptocurrency is a Ponzi Scheme AND advanced severe criticisms of Bitcoin mining. However, a few months later, in March, he also said that he would “defend” the right to buy and hold Bitcoin even if he did not do so himself, hinting at a softening stance.
Despite his negative statements about cryptocurrencies, Dimon has been an ardent supporter of the underlying blockchain technology. In 2022, he expressed support for DeFi and blockchain, calling each area a “true, new technology” in a letter to JP Morgan shareholders.
JP Morgan has been at the forefront of experimenting with distributed ledger technology and has several blockchain-based products, including its Liink network and JPM Coin.