The Fed is not optimistic and crypto is “pretty irrelevant”

The chairman of JPMorgan Chase said that crypto “is not relevant in the scheme of things“. Commenting on the U.S. economy, he defended the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance, pointing out that if the Fed’s action “causes a slightly deeper recession for a while“, then “this is the price we have to pay.“

JPMorgan Chase chairman on the U.S. economy and the recession

JPMorgan Chase Chairman Daniel Pinto commented on the U.S. economy and crypto-currencies in an interview with CNBC on Monday. Daniel Pinto is also COO of the global investment bank and CEO of its investment bank.

The 59-year-old executive grew up in Argentina as a child where inflation was often very high, he shared, noting that living with pervasive inflation was “very, very stressful.“Price increases in Argentina averaged over 300% per year from 1975 to 1991.

Daniel Pinto believes that:

That’s why when people say the Fed is too hawkish, I disagree. I think putting inflation back in a box is very important… If it leads to a slightly deeper recession for a while, that’s the price we have to pay.

The JPMorgan chairman stressed that the Federal Reserve cannot allow inflation to creep into the economy, pointing out that a premature return to easier monetary policy risks repeating the mistakes of the 1970s and 1980s.

Crypto-currencies are “kind of pointless.”

Commenting on crypto-currencies, the JPMorgan executive says there has been little progress recently in terms of institutional adoption of crypto-currencies. Pinto stated:

The reality is that the current form of crypto has become a small asset class that is irrelevant in the scheme of things.

However, he noted, “But the technology, the concepts, something is probably going to happen there; just not in its present form.“

Contrary to Daniel Pinto’s belief, many large companies and banks are seeing increased institutional interest in crypto-currencies and are beefing up their services in this area. Nasdaq created a crypto unit in September, citing increased demand for digital assets among institutional investors. Financial giant State Street recently said it is seeing steady demand from institutions. In May, Citi, Wells Fargo and BNY Mellon invested in crypto-currency firm Talos, citing an acceleration in institutional adoption of crypto assets.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also believes that blockchain and decentralized finance (defi) are real. However, he said that crypto-currencies, including bitcoin, are “decentralized Ponzi schemes.“