JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that blockchain technology and digital assets are direct competitors threatening the traditional banking model.
In his shareholder letter, Dimon claims that blockchain infrastructure, stablecoins and tokenization are core competitive priorities that JPMorgan must aggressively address in order to be able to maintain its dominance.
Dimon has grouped blockchain-based systems alongside major fintech rivals like Stripe, Block and Revolut.
These new players are well-funded and highly ambitious, according to the JPMorgan boss.
"A whole new set of competitors is emerging based on blockchain, which includes stablecoins, smart contracts, and other forms of tokenization," Dimon warned in the letter.
Dimon made it clear that the bank cannot afford to sit on the sidelines to remain competitive.
He has stressed that JPMorgan must "roll out its own blockchain technology and continually focus on what our customers want in a very detailed way" to ensure faster product development and seamless execution.
During a conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, Dimon heaped praise on blockchain technology for being highly efficient and capable of replacing clumsy legacy systems.
JPMorgan backs this up with billions of dollars in daily transaction volume through Kinexys (the bank's rebranded proprietary blockchain platform).
At the same time, Dimon remains deeply hostile toward public cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
In 2017, Dimon famously called Bitcoin a "fraud" and vowed to fire any JPMorgan trader caught trading it for being "stupid." He has not warmed up to the asset class. Last year, he argued that the U.S. should not stockpile Bitcoin (BTC).