JPM’s Jamie Dimon: Regulators Have Done ‘Nothing’ to Stem Crypto Fraud

The outspoken JPMorgan CEO said Sam Bankman-Fried triggered a long-brewing disaster that could have been averted by regulators

share

In perhaps his most incendiary remarks yet in a history of outspoken crypto critiques, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon in Texas this week said Sam Bankman-Fried will probably end up in jail — adding that regulators “haven’t focused on crypto at all” and have instead “done nothing,” according to a source familiar with the matter.

Despite Dimon’s opinions, divisions of the longtime JPMorgan chief executive’s bank have embraced crypto and offered related exposures to clients. 

The Wall Street heavyweight has also snapped up stakes in sector startups. And it’s even carved out its own metaverse niche via a bank-branded Decentraland virtual lounge. 

Not to mention that one of the bank’s own crypto analysts, Steven Alexopoulos, penned a research note for institutional clients, saying the fall of FTX is “potentially dramatically accelerating the timeline” of regulation, according to ZeroHedge. Fair and stringent digital asset regulatory measures are necessary — and overdue — in the eyes of many big-money investors.

“We see the news surrounding FTX as one step back, but one that could prove to be the catalyst to move the crypto economy two steps forward,” Alexopoulos reportedly wrote. 

Dimon — meanwhile — opined on digital assets in a bank meeting during his Texas roadshow of sorts, privately meeting with current and prospective clients, as well as bank executives. 

Cryptocurrencies are “dirty,” according to Dimon, and do not “hold value.” JPM’s top executive suggested there’s a strong argument for digital assets to be banned outright, saying there’s little, or nothing, cryptocurrencies are capable of that his investment bank is not.

“Silly,” the source told Blockworks. “He’s going too far.”

The source, an institutional crypto trader who has worked with JPMorgan, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive business dealings. A second source confirmed the meeting took place. 

Dunking on crypto

The chief executive’s barrage arrives on the heels of the remarkably fast collapse of crypto exchange FTX, which Bankman-Fried until this week owned. The now-fallen face of crypto resigned this week as FTX declared bankruptcy after rival Binance backed out of its bid to purchase the formerly lucrative company for just $1

FTX’s blowup has, in short order, triggered a ballooning crypto contagion.

US regulators have been scrambling, in particular, to investigate growing allegations that FTX traded on customer funds via sister asset manager, Alameda Research.

“It is worthless,” Dimon said. “I am shocked that governments allow it, by the way. Not that they stop a digital currency — we have a digital currency. JPMorgan moves $10 trillion a day around the world. Every day. As we’re speaking, we’re zipping and zapping money all around the world.”

Dimon — who has dubbed cryptocurrencies a “Ponzi scheme” and reiterated that categorization in the meeting — favorably compared JPMorgan’s existing system for facilitating transactions to crypto’s capabilities.

The bank employs a series of systematic risk controls, he said, including cyber safeguards and financial fraud protections. Digital assets, in Dimon’s view, have been a hospitable home to quite the opposite.

“You don’t know the exact number of terrorists [using it], tax avoidance, sex trafficking, drug money,” he said. “It’s pretty large.”

Added Dimon, to loud laughter: “So, that’s legitimate use. Everything else is speculation.”

And he was especially a critic of Bankman-Fried’s version of “speculation.”

“That guy, in my view, is probably going to end up going to jail,” Dimon said.

JPMorgan has paid $6.2 billion in penalties for investor protection violations and $2.1 billion for anti-money-laundering deficiencies over the years.

The blockchain, not crypto trope

The executive did say, however, that blockchain technology — not cryptoassets on their own accord — has potential, in terms of shoring up how banks enable the exchange of monetary value, which has “flaws in the system.”

“Fortunately,” according to Dimon, the flaws are ones “blockchain may help fix over time.” 

Regardless of the renewed efforts of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to clamp down on industry bad actors — a long-awaited move in the eyes of some prominent industry participants and dissidents alike — Dimon said he’s been far from satisfied. 

Both the depth and breadth of the attempts of regulators attempting to wrap their arms around the asset class and the relative lack of action, according to Dimon, has been made more jarring by the collapse of crypto lenders such as Voyager and Celsius earlier this year, as well as the implosion of the stablecoin UST. 

FTX, in quite the paradox, stepped in as the savior of a few ailing crypto lenders. Bankman-Fried, not long ago a favored hobnobber and campaign financier in Washington, has left lawmakers in the lurch with his purported fraud.

“They did a pretty good job with inflation,” Dimon said. “They did a terrible job with [crypto]…They haven’t focused on this at all,” he added. “The fraud taking place, the scams. And they’ve done nothing.”

A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to comment, and a spokesperson for FTX did not immediately return a request for comment.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).jpg

Research

Jupiter has emerged as the undisputed liquidity backbone of Solana, commanding over 90% of spot DEX aggregation and 80% of perp trading volume. But behind the numbers lies a far more ambitious play: a cross-chain, vertically integrated super-app spanning swaps, synthetics, NFTs, memecoins, and launchpads. This report explores Jupiter’s rapid rise, the monetization upgrades reshaping its revenue profile, and the risks that could unwind its dominance, from token dilution to competition. With annualized revenues nearing $300M, the upside is undeniable, if it can navigate the turbulence.

article-image

Zora’s announcement that its token is for “fun only” sparked a debate about the need for such tokens

article-image

In recent weeks, Helium has hit new all-time highs while passing major protocol milestones

article-image

Financial advisers in a January survey said equity ETFs were their top choice for gaining crypto exposure in 2025

article-image

“Why put a target out there that’s really speculative, not knowing exactly where this environment is going to go?” CarMax CEO Bill Nash said

article-image

While the head of Base may support legal sex work, Coinbase policies prohibit said workers from using its exchange.

article-image

EVM bottlenecks fundamentally hold back Ethereum’s scalability