Wall Street Analyst Rejects Jamie Dimon’s Bitcoin ‘Fraud’ Critique

A senior analyst for Macquarie Group has pushed back against some of the criticism of bitcoin coming from Wall Street figures like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

In a new note to clients obtained by Business Insider, Viktor Shvets, head of global and Asia-Pacific equity strategy for Macquarie, wrote that in spite of any “extreme speculation”, bitcoin relies on a “durable technology that is likely to continue to evolve and strengthen.”

Shvetz then directly took on the allegation that bitcoin is a “fraud” – advanced by Dimon earlier this month – and pushed back against that narrative.

“If one describes Bitcoin as a fraud, how would one describe a ‘financial cloud’ that is at least 4x-5x larger than the underlying economies?” Shvetz asked, writing:

“It is unlikely that US$400 trillion+ of financial instruments circulating around the world would ever be repaid and most are now backed by assets that are already either worthless or are diminishing in value. How does one describe rates and the yield curve that are either directly determined by [central banks] ([Bank of Japan] or [People’s Bank of China]) or heavily influenced by them ([The] Fed or [European Central Bank])? People living in glass houses should not throw stones.

According to BI, Shvetz argued that investors should consider integrating cryptocurrencies into their portfolio strategies, describing them as a hedge against the devaluation of fiat currencies like the dollar.

Shvetz’ note comes as more Wall Street observers – from Morgan Chase CEO James Gorman to the “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort – weigh in the cryptocurrency market. Compared to Dimon, Gorman struck a more measured tone, saying that he believes bitcoin is “more than just a fad.”

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