Bitcoin and Ethereum slide after JPMorgan Chase boss slams cryptocurrencies as “fraud”

JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon slammed cryptocurrencies as a “fraud” last night, pushing the already slipping value of Bitcoin down another notch.

Bitcoin was down almost four per cent today at $3,985.03 (£2,994.49), while Ethereum dropped 4.81 per cent to $279.55.

Dimon said he would fire an employee who traded in cryptocurrencies for being “stupid”.

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“I’d fire them in a second,” he said. “For two reasons: It’s against our rules, and they’re stupid. And both are dangerous.”

Speaking at an event hosted by Barclays, the banking boss said: “It’s just not a real thing, eventually it will be closed”, according to reports on Bloomberg and CNBC.

Bitcoin smashed through the $5,000 barrier earlier this month, but has since taken a tumble after China became the first country to ban initial coin offerings.

Cryptocurrencies then fell even further when it was rumoured that China would also ban local cryptocurrency exchanges.

It was a turbulent day for Bitcoin yesterday, after security specialist FireEye suggested North Korea was stealing the cryptocurrency in order to avoid sanctions. But the cryptocurrency has also become increasingly popular, with a survey finding that long bets on Bitcoin now outflanks Nasdaq as the most crowded trade.

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