WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon slammed bitcoin on Tuesday, saying the digital currency is "a fraud" that will eventually blow up.
Addressing the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor, Dimon called bitcoin "a fraud." "It's just not a real thing, eventually it will be closed," he added.
In a separate conference earlier Tuesday, Dimon said bitcoin mania is reminiscent of the tulip bulb craze in the 17th century.
"It's worse than tulip bulbs. It won't end well. Someone is going to get killed," he said.
Dimon said he would not allow JP Morgan traders to trade bitcoin, noting that "it's against our rules and they are stupid."
The bitcoin fell after Dimon's comments. It traded at around 4,174 U.S. dollars as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
The price of Bitcoin has soared by 330 percent so far this year. Some analysts even see the price surging to 6,000 dollars next year.
According to a recent survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, bitcoin is now considered as the "most crowed trade," meaning investors believe there are too many people on the buying side and it could result in a bubble burst.
Chinese authorities last week ordered a ban on Initial Coin Offerings, a nascent form of fundraising in which technology start-ups issue their own digital coins, such as bitcoin, to investors to access funds as the rapidly expanding market spawned concerns over financial risks.
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