JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said he would “immediately fire” anyone caught trading bitcoins when the price reached $4,000.

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPMorgan Chase & Co.), is known for his ruthless attacks on Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), despite the banking giant’s investments in exchange-traded funds tied to the leading cryptocurrency.

What happened: At an investor conference almost exactly seven years ago, Dimon called Bitcoin a “fraud” and “worse than tulip bulbs,” alluding to the Dutch tulip mania in the 17th century.

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Most notably, he said he would “immediately fire” any JPMorgan trader caught trading Bitcoin.

When Dimon made these remarks, the price of one Bitcoin was $4,161.27. Today, the price of the coin has risen to $57,926, a massive increase of 1,292%.

Why it is important: Dimon's criticism of Bitcoin has continued unabated, even going so far as to call for the industry to be shut down during testimony before Congress in December last year.

However, his stance changed significantly when the first Bitcoin ETFs came onto the market just a month later. Dimon said: “I defend your right to operate Bitcoin.”

According to a recent filing with the SEC, JPMorgan held $42,000 worth of shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (NYSE:GBTC). The company also liquidated its entire portfolio in iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT), which was acquired in the first quarter.

Price promotion: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $57,947.66, up 2.50% in the past 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. JPMorgan shares closed 0.78% higher at $207.17 during the regular trading session on Thursday.

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This article “JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said he would fire anyone caught trading Bitcoin when it hit $4,000” originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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