BTC price slips to $42.4K as JPMorgan CEO says Bitcoin ‘does nothing’

Bitcoin fell to intraday lows prior to the Jan. 17 Wall Street open as the World Economic Forum (WEF) offered fresh mainstream criticism.

Dimon: Bitcoin is a “pet rock”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed a BTC price dip to $42,400 on Bitstamp. The largest cryptocurrency, still tightly rangebound after last week’s spate of volatility, repeatedly failed to sustain $43,000 as support amid a broad absence of liquidity. The mood was not helped by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who, at the WEF annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, told CNBC that Bitcoin “does nothing.” “I’m not trying to make a joke here; there are use cases: AML, fraud, Anti-Money Laundering, tax avoidance, sex trafficking,” he claimed, repeating age-old, widely debunked criticisms of Bitcoin.

“Those are real use cases, and you see it being used for hundreds, maybe $50–$100 billion a year for that. That is the end use case.”

Dimon additionally proclaimed that he would not mention Bitcoin on the network again, asking presenters to “stop talking” about it. As Cointelegraph reported, Dimon has himself repeatedly promised to stop mentioning it through the years. Asked about his stance regarding last week’s slew of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launches, he insisted that he was ambivalent about competitors embracing Bitcoin. “I don’t know what he would say about blockchain versus currencies that do something versus Bitcoin that does nothing; it may be a lot different than me,” he concluded, referencing Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, whose iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF saw more than $700 million in inflows in its first three days.

“But this is what makes a market — people have opinions, and this is the last time I’m ever going to state my opinion.”

Traders see no BTC price breakout

Updating their angle on short-term BTC price performance, popular traders warned of testing times ahead. For Daan Crypto Trades, the days of simple trading environments are now over, as BTC/USD remains impossible to second-guess. “After last week’s drop, BTC is just ranging and chopping people up. I am in no rush to take any actions and happy just waiting for clear opportunities,” he told X subscribers on the day.

“Easy mode was the past weeks/months. Not now.”

An accompanying chart showed the range high, low and midpoint currently in play. Fellow trader Crypto Tony, meanwhile, predicted the range continuing, possibly with a floor in the upper $30,000 area. “I expect Bitcoin to range between $47,000 and $38,000 over the next few months. More attention to Altcoins to come,” he summarized.