JP Morgan May Be Playing a Different Game With Bitcoin Than It First Appears

According to a recent report, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, recently issued a statement blasting Bitcoin. In a discussion held on Monday, he expressed his belief, saying that cryptocurrencies will be regulated and that BTC is worthless.

“No matter what anyone thinks about it, government is going to regulate it. They are going to regulate it for (anti-money laundering) purposes, for (Bank Secrecy Act) purposes, for tax,”

Dimon has been unwavering in his position towards Bitcoin. He remains one of the most prominent critics of the digital asset and once called it a fraud.

JP Morgan Yields To Investor Demands

Despite the anti-crypto stance posed by the giant bank, it appears to be playing both sides. This is because the firm’s actions of late could be said to be in contrast to the CEO’s statement.

It is pertinent to state that JP Morgan finally succumbed to the pressure from its retail investors to include crypto services. This development pressed the need for the bank to grant its financial advisors’ permission to trade digital assets for its users.

A previous report from The Tokenist stated that JP Morgan took the first step towards integrating digital assets among major banks. This update came as a contradiction to Dimon’s disposition towards the mammoth cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, some analysts at the firm have made positive remarks about digital assets. JP Morgan attributed the recent rally for Bitcoin to the influx of institutional traders. The bank made this statement on the premise that institutional investors now favor BTC to gold as a hedge against inflation. This move has come off as an effort to play both sides and allow JP Morgan to shift its position to the winning one as the technology evolves over the next few years.

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Bitcoin Continues To Rally Despite Attacks From Detractors

Bitcoin price recorded a parabolic upswing which took price levels above the $50,000 mark. This 35% increase also returned the market capitalization of the pioneering digital asset over $1 trillion.

It turns out Dimon is just one among the many Bitcoin trolls. The Founder and Chairman of EuroPacBank, Peter Schiff, is a prominent gold proponent who has frequently criticized Bitcoin over the last couple of years. In a recent tweet, he mocked CNBC for changing their stance towards cryptocurrencies, stressing that it is a “fool’s gold.”

However, investors seem to be paying less attention to the negative sentiments from these financial experts, with other metrics adding credence to the bullish narrative that has now appeared.

Onchain Metrics Support BTC’s Bullish Thesis

Insights from Glassnode has shown that on-chain data also reflect a growing positive sentiment among crypto market participants. The charts have shown an increase in network activity, indicating a possible surge in Bitcoin demand.

Active Entities, the count of individuals interacting with the blockchain daily, recorded a 19% increase, reaching 291,000 active participants per day. The last time this value was recorded corresponds with the beginning of the bull run, towards late 2020. Historical data shows that this spike in the number of active participants correlates with the growing interest seen at the beginning of a bull market.

Retail traders seem to have taken to this growing awareness to hedge their assets against inflation. More market participants now favor Bitcoin over Gold as a store of value. Hence we see seeing a boost in demand for crypto.

Bitcoin’s finite supply reinforces its value as there can be only 21 million BTC in existence. The Bitcoin vs. Gold ratio charts, representing the number of Gold ounces it takes to purchase 1 BTC, clarifies the picture. When the ratio rises, it means that the digital asset is outperforming the precious metal. When it falls, the reverse is the case, and the market has shown that the former continues to gain strength over the latter.

Do you think Bitcoin will permanently overthrow gold as a store of value? Let us know in the comments below.