Jamie Dimon. Currency vs Technology
Jamie Dimon: “..Separate blockchain which is a technology... from Bitcoin a currency... and now there are multiple currencies, and I am not talking about Bitcoin per-se… I’m talking about currencies...and I’m not saying go short."
Ethereum vs. Bitcoin
Sobuka Analysis : So here is the deal. I am going to mention where I disagree with Dimon and try to make sense about this statement and this one is not really major. He is a guy who tries to keep up with everything. He is not living night and day like us analyzing and breathing Bitcoin 24/7. So for his knowledge about the industry compared to all the financial CEOs out there that I know, he truly gets an A+. Most financial CEOs are fairly not that knowledgeable when it comes to cryptocurrencies. So what I want to clarify from this segment is that Bitcoin is both blockchain technology and currency. He is however right by saying Bitcoin is a “currency”. It is technically coined with the word “digital currency” anyway. I personally do not like to call Bitcoin just currency. That’s just my personal opinion. I would say it behaves like one. When you call something a currency, to me it should have an official government stamp of approval in my opinion. For example, there was a recent rumor that Australia was trying to make Bitcoin a currency. If that ever happened to Bitcoin, then it becomes a currency whether anyone likes it or not. I think in this cryptocurrency space, we tend to confuse these terms altogether. Maybe putting something like the word “official” into the word “currency” may help distinguish between an official currency and a digital concurrency. I’d like to leave it as “digital currency” or more appropriate “cryptocurrency” until the language is transformed by officialdom entirely. Following that, what upsets countries is when something other than their own fiat currency like the Yuan, comes into their space and is slapped with the word currency. That just undermines the official government currency at the end of the day.
Jamie Dimon. Bitcoin vs Ethereum
Jamie Dimon: “and I am not talking about Bitcoin per-se.. I’m talking about currencies...”
Picture from Huffington Post
Sobuka Analysis: Okay so for people who are not aware, Jamie Dimon heads J.P. Morgan. This is basically the world’s #1 most respected bank by a "majority" of people. There are currently 800+ cryptocurrencies that include Bitcoin that are listed on exchanges. Bitcoin holds the #1 place. Guess who holds the #2 place? Yes, J.P. Morgan and partners. His company is in a group called the Ethereum Alliance which is made up of several Fortune 500 companies that also include banks and various institutions. So when Dimon mentions currencies (and this is my own personal opinion), you have cryptos that want to behave as physical currencies. These type of cryptos, we refer to them as coins in this space. The other set of cryptos are referred to as tokens. I think Dimon is trying to set a strong clear distinction between currencies like Bitcoin and tokens like Ethereum. Further on his interview, we will see him kind of joke about Bitcoin’s use case by sliding in North Korea into the short conversation. (That joke is kind of humorous towards a certain audience). However, I want to mention that there is no mention about Ethereum in this segment of the interview. A person as smart as Dimon would know that trying to bring down the price of Bitcoin would also bring down the price of Ethereum, at least short-term since Bitcoin is the big gorilla that every ape follows in the cryptocurrency market, up or down those charts. There might be some type of weird manipulation going on here, but I am not going to try and play the role of conspiracy theorist. Let’s just stay with analyzing the language. However, I’ll definitely keep my eye out on Ethereum and whatever is currently being built on the Ethereum platform as opposed to cryptos that are associated as simply “coin.”
Jamie Dimon. Bitcoin Could Reach $100,000 Before Going Down
Jamie Dimon: “I’m not saying go short... Bitcoin could go to $100,000 before it goes down and this is not advice on what you should do..”
Crazy Price Predictions
Sobuka Analysis: I think some people might translate this as trading advice, but it’s not trading advice. That is the smart thing about Dimon. This entire interview can be translated in so many different ways. Whether you want to go long or short Bitcoin, this statement says it’s your choice. Up until the past 2 weeks, going short Bitcoin was a bad idea until this week with the whole China news. At least short-term Dimon is eating up some of his words since Bitcoin is down more than 33% since its high of $5,000, but Dimon is recognized as a long-term strategic trader. Short-term noise means nothing to him. Consequently as Bitcoin goes down for now, so does Ethereum! But this also could be inside talk. Keep in mind J.P. Morgan traders are pretty smart people next to Goldman Sachs. Whether me or you like or hate them is totally irrelevant. Both companies hire only the best people. Also like all famous personalities in the cryptocurrency space, Dimon throws out Bitcoin possibly going up to $100,000 before it goes back down. We do not know if he means go back to 0 or where Bitcoin was trading for the last 3 years at the $200.00 price range. However, the statement he used later on in the interview was describing Bitcoin as the tulip bubble. So obviously Dimon thinks Bitcoin will go down regardless of how high it gets whether $10,000 or $100,000. Keep in mind, his statement is clearly an opinion, and price predictions at the end of the day are nothing more than predictions. Also keep in mind that Bitcoin is a competitor with all the other cryptocurrencies whether they are coins or tokens. Since J.P. Morgan is affiliated with the Ethereum Alliance, like any sensible business owner their goal is to knock off competitors such as Bitcoin and have companies design and build on their platform. Bitcoin and Ethereum are two totally separate, distinct technologies as already explained.
Jamie Dimon. My Daughter Holds Bitcoin. My Traders Don't!
Jamie Dimon: My daughter bought some Bitcoin…and it went up...she thinks she is a genius now...but it's like the tulip bulb crisis or whatever...
Does Your Daughter Hold Bitcoin Like Jamie's?
Sobuka Analysis: With that statement, whether Jamie Dimon likes or dislike Bitcoin, he clearly respects it. And I think as parents, if you have a child that bought something at a great deal, you would obviously be proud of your child. This statement should be analyzed some more. For example, think about going to a dinner party and talking about your daughter (or niece) to friends in public about how they are doing in school. This is similar to what Jamie Dimon is doing here. It’s almost bragging like “look at how smart my daughter is compared to your daughter.” If you guys have someone of similar significance that looks up to you like a niece or daughter, you will not try to brand that little person with something bad. That automatically puts you in a bad light. In a dinner party, you’d rather say, “My daughter is doing great in school” rather than “My daughter causes trouble in school.” What type of image would the latter show as bragging rights. Therefore Dimon’s statement shows some respect for Bitcoin, and obviously he’s very proud of his daughter by observing his body language and gesture. And since his daughter owns Bitcoin, obviously he see's nothing wrong in mentioning it as opposed to a narcotic else why would he say a statement like that?! Someone who hates Bitcoin would never say something as dumb as that statement no matter if their daughter is an outcast. Anyway his statement has interesting implications. Whether his daughter is 10 years old or 100 years old makes no difference to me. Saying a statement like that should make one think. If you were a parent and really hated something about your kid(s), would you ever mention such a statement in public? This statement sticks out as if “Dimon's kids can own Bitcoin,” then “Maybe it’s okay for me to buy some Bitcoin too.” On the flip side of this statement, he later called out his own traders saying that if they were found to trade Bitcoin, they’d be fired! This language could have many meanings as there are different types of traders. Buying Bitcoin and trading Bitcoin are two completely separate things. So this language requires more media follow-up as to exactly what type of trades his traders would like to do with Bitcoin. It could be day-trade, swing trade, buy and hold, or whatever flavor is already out there, so who knows?! But sounds like his kids are simply holders since his daughter has obviously gained a lot from just holding Bitcoin. So maybe he is trying to tell his traders to be as brilliant as his daughter and switch their trading pattern to just “buy and hold” Bitcoin?! What do you guys think? Remember Dimon is a long-term, non-impulsive financial trader. (Follow the clues people...)
Bitcoin. Jamie Dimon is Right About China Ban Politics
Jamie Dimon"...here’s the reason...government from what they like to do is create a currency...they like to control the currency..they controlled through a central bank...they also like to know who has it...where it is...where it’s going...and you just saw what China is doing by closing down its Bitcoin exchanges and when all I ever said is that Bitcoin...the bigger these things get..the more governments right now look at as a novelty like in Washington where they love technology...wait until someone gets hurt...wait until it’s used for illicit purposes... which is somewhat useful purposes...they close it down…"
Sobuka Analysis: Personally speaking….like or hate this guy, this is why I give him an A+. It’s like he’s being reading my misspelled Steemit articles! If you talk to most CEOs in the financial sector, they know nothing compared to Dimon about the political implications of blockchain technology. Dimon’s statement is correct with respect to exchanges being banned in China with the exception of Hong Kong. He is also trying to hint that the same things happening in China may occur in other places like the United States. I honestly think comparing China cryptocurrency addiction to the rest of the world is like trying to draw similarities between a heroin addict and a coffee drinker. So much FUD comes out of China and the feeling or consensus from people in the cryptocurrency space is in agreement that the China ICO ban was a good idea. And also there is growing support for the exchanges in China being suspended/banned as a good idea as well! At this point, the crypto community consensus is that everyone is quite simply tired of dealing with China and the government trying to put tougher regulations on the statewide ICO situation and exchange situation is an overall good thing for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry!
Jamie Dimon Scores 9/10 on Bitcoin Politics
Jamie Dimon: "that’s my point... so it’s not you can argue ...there’s analysts... there’s a good reason for it if you were in Venezuela or Ecuador or North Korea... you’re better off probably using Bitcoin than using their currency... that can’t possibly be true in the United States unless you are speculating and that isn’t the reason to say that it has value because other people are speculating and that’s tulip and that’s what I was saying... so I don’t think and also like I said the other reason to close down is because use for illicit purposes and so there’s just not a real thing and eventually “emptied out/closed (sounds-like but not sure).”
Sobuka Analysis: That ends the 2 minute interview. I think Jamie Dimon will run for office one day. No BS! Not sure what position, but he will run for something. This whole interview is politician “speak” and balance between Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies either succeeding or failing. So he says Bitcoin is good for certain places like Venezuela and Ecuador which in fact is true from all the news that Bitcoin analysts are receiving from those regions daily, and what I have been reporting here on this channel as well. But I am not sure why he mentioned North Korea. But nonetheless, he is not wrong by stating North Korea. The only thing I know about North Korea is that there was a suspected Bitcoin miner or someone mining Bitcoin in that country. And there has been news of North Koreans leading the Bitcoin ransomware attacks. But all this news are distractions because we have to keep in mind that the United States hates North Korea. In any case, with the unfavorability towards Bitcoin within the mainstream media, it seems like all these three countries would eventually make a new future “Axis of Evil” list.
The last part Dimon says is how there is no real use case for Bitcoin as its pure speculation in other parts of the world. I have to agree with Dimon on this one. There is way too many speculators in Bitcoin right now that surpass the population of people in Venezuela and Ecuador actually using it. Yes, Bitcoin can be used to make purchases in other parts of the world, but most people are holding it in hopes that it becomes valuable, hence why he’s coining it as “tulip” crisis. “It is what it is” ..guys. But on the flip side, the same thing can be said for gold. Is that tulip as well?! But gold is on a slower pace as compared to any asset.
Most people are not using their Bitcoin to buy a cup of coffee in the United States at their local Starbucks. One would have to be crazy to do that. Majority of people are just holders or traders.
Dimon is also right about saying that Bitcoin has been used for illicit activities. That is a fact! He thinks it will eventually lead to exchanges being closed down such as in China. I do not know what type of illegal activities have been occurring in China and even with their neighbor North Korea with respect to Bitcoin. Who the hell knows?! But to stay balanced on the subject on illicit activities, you do have mainstream media siding against Bitcoin, and I just think the reason is the newsworthiness of Bitcoin. But if we compare Bitcoin to the US dollar, I can definitely expect that the US dollar is by far used in most illicit and illegal activities based on simple math. It’s the world’s backed currency and there are trillions of dollars circulating everywhere. However, I believe that with KYC and AML laws slowly being incorporated into Bitcoin purchases and exchanges, being able to detect illicit Bitcoin activities would be as simple as detecting credit card fraud.
To conclude we still live in a capitalistic society. Dimon and J.P. Morgan have clients that they have to protect. Bitcoin and all the other coins that are acting as currencies are just competition and a threat. But I also think Dimon is trying to play both sides, and it’s been done very well in this interview...at least to very keen people able to read between the b..R..ea.ks in this short 2 minute interview.
Personal Market Synopsis
As the volatility and unpredictability in cryptocurrencies subside due to the China shutdown, which I think is frankly great for all cryptocurrencies, I will be watching closely to see if Ethereum will start to decouple away from Bitcoin’s future price action. Remember that Ethereum is J.P. Morgan’s favorite child. And unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is not a coin used to act as a currency. It’s strictly a token with perceived value. The China market brought too much questionable selloffs for all cryptocurrencies whenever there was panic selling in Bitcoin. I would think this made Ethereum investors concerned. But what do I know...I have been reporting these same events for the past several months here on Sobuka. But whatever. Have a great day everyone!
Nick is a content creator for Sobuka with a background in programming, information technology, finance and digital forensics. He shares interest in cryptocurrencies by reporting on International Affairs. You can find myself, B, and Sarah here from time to time.
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Disclaimer
The information on this blog is not financial advice. Before you invest in cryptocurrencies, please speak to a financial advisor. (Most likely your financial advisor in 2017 will give you a funny look... But at least you were smart enough to ask...)