JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon has upped the ante in his criticism of bitcoin, declaring the cryptocurrency a fraud and warning that he would fire any trader caught dealing in the coin for being "stupid".
Dimon did not mince his words in his latest critique of bitcoin, telling the audience at a conference hosted by Barclays and reported on by Bloomberg that: "It's worse than tulip bulbs. It won't end well. Someone is going to get killed."
His remarks follow a previous savaging of bitcoin back in November 2014 when the cryptocurrency was trading at $400, insisting that virtual currencies have no chance of surviving because they will be crushed by governments.
At the Barclays conference, Dimon maintained his tough stance despite the startling surge in bitcoin value over the past three years, predicting that the market was heading for a "blow up" and adding that he would terminate any trader caught investing in the currency for stupidity.
“I’d fire them in a second," he told the conference. "For two reasons: It’s against our rules, and they’re stupid. And both are dangerous.”