JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon last month branded cryptocurrencies “decentralized Ponzi schemes.” Now the bank has hired its first head of digital assets regulatory policy, Bloomberg reports.
Aaron Iovine, former head of policy and regulatory affairs for bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, joined JPMorgan this week, a spokesperson for the bank confirmed.
The signing comes as JPMorgan expands its compliance and policy team for digital assets as regulatory scrutiny in the space picks up pace. JPMorgan is also seeking to fill a digital assets counsel position in its corporate and investment bank, according to a recent job posting.
Dimon hasn’t been shy about sharing his opinion of cryptocurrencies, telling lawmakers on September 21 that he is a “major skeptic on crypto tokens.” JPMorgan’s global head of payments, Takis Georgakopoulos, isn’t a fan either. He told Bloomberg Television last month that he sees “very little” demand for crypto as a payment tool.
Dimon famously blasted crypto in 2017, calling Bitcoin a “fraud” and vowing to “fire in a second” any employee who bought the asset. “If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day,” Dimon said. He later said he regretted calling Bitcoin a “fraud” but maintains that crypto is “not my cup of tea.”
But digital assets can go beyond currencies to include anything traded on a blockchain.
Iovine, an attorney, will work with JPMorgan’s regulatory affairs group. He joined Celsius in February from digital asset-friendly regional lender Cross River Bank, where he spent nearly three years and led policy and regional affairs, Bloomberg reports.
Iovine was a member of the Cross River team that lobbied Congress on “general issues focused on financial services, fintech partnerships and the Paycheck Protection Program,” a public filing shows.
Iovine departed Celsius in September, two months after the firm filed for bankruptcy in New York. He is listed among thousands of Celsius’ unsecured creditors in documents related to the bankruptcy, Bloomberg reports.
Iovine didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment, while JPMorgan’s general counsel, Stacey Friedman, didn’t reply to a request for comment about the digital assets counsel posting.
A JPMorgan spokeswoman declined to comment on Friedman and Iovine’s behalf.
Source: Financial Advisor IQ
