Bitcoin Surges as JPMorgan Chase CEO’s Comments Come Back to Haunt Him
Last month, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon made headlines when he compared bitcoin to a Pet Rock and urged people to “stop talking about that s–t” as the cryptocurrency approached $45,000. However, now bitcoin investors are having the last laugh as the digital currency has surged a whopping 20% in just five days.
With Wednesday’s gains, bitcoin is nearing its all-time high of around $69,000 that was set in November 2021. The recent rally has been fueled by billions of dollars flowing into the cryptocurrency after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds last month.
Another significant factor contributing to the surge is the upcoming bitcoin “halving.” This event, which occurs roughly every four years, automatically reduces the rate of new coins entering circulation and creates more scarcity, potentially driving up the price of bitcoin.
While past bitcoin halvings have led to bullish periods, there is no guarantee that history will repeat itself. Events like new regulations could impact any potential gains from the halving. Despite this uncertainty, investors are optimistic and are actively trading bitcoin, leading to major outages on platforms like Coinbase.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong acknowledged the outages on Wednesday, stating that the platform experienced a ~10x surge in traffic, leading to errors for some users. However, he assured customers that their assets were safe and that the team was working to resolve the issues.
As bitcoin continues to climb, it remains to be seen how long the rally will last and whether Dimon will have to eat his words about the cryptocurrency being a mere Pet Rock.