JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has poured scorn on bitcoin, saying that virtual currencies have no chance of surviving because they will be crushed by governments.
Speaking at the Fortune Global Forum, Dimon dismissed the much-hyped currency, although he was more positive about the underlying blockchain technology.
Responding to a question on the prospect of a shadow economic system based on bitcoin, the banker said: "It's just not going to happen. You're wasting your time." Dimon believes that when authorities such as the US Department of Justice says that a currency is illegal, "it's over".
"This is my personal opinion: there will be no real non-controlled currency in the world. There is no government that's going to put up with it for long. It's kinda cute now, a lot of Senators are saying 'I support Silicon Valley innovation'. There will be no currency that gets around government controls."
However, Dimon says that "the technology [blockchain] will be used. It may even be used to transport currency, but it will be US dollars."
Dimon's dismissal of bitcoin comes as the currency experiences a surge in value, breaking the $450 mark this week for the first time in a year, before falling back below $400.
However, according to the Financial Times, much of the rise could be down to what is essentially a Russian pyramid scheme popular with Chinese investors. The MMM 'social finance network' demands participants buy bitcoin to join. MM is the brainchild of former Russian parliamentarian Sergey Mavrodi, who has been jailed for fraud, says the FT.