Here’s why Jamie Dimon is terrified of Bitcoin

Clearly, there is something bothering Jamie Dimon.

Why else would the CEO of JPMorgan Chase make a weekly routine out of getting into his black shiny limo, heading to the television studios of major U.S. media outlets, and spouting off non sequiturs that are intended to create fear, uncertainty and doubt around what he calls a meaningless “fraud”?

Is the alleged Bitcoin “fraud” really worthy of this highly successful billionaire’s time?

Once you understand the technology behind Bitcoin, the answer becomes exceedingly clear.

Every dollar invested in Bitcoin is a dollar that’s not in a bank.

Bitcoin’s market cap is currently hovering around $60 billion. That means that there is $60 billion less invested in commercial banks around the world than there was before Bitcoin came around.

How can Bitcoin operate without a bank? Well, dear reader, that is the part of the technology that has gotten us all so excited. Bitcoin operates in the same exact manner as cash, but digitally.

What is the difference between storing $1 million in paper cash and $1 million in Bitcoin in a home safe?

Here is $1 million in paper cash:

Here is an example of what $1 million (or any amount) would look like in Bitcoin:

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Which one looks easier to store to you?

When you own Bitcoin, you own digital cash. You can keep a stack of cash in your home safe, and you can also keep your Bitcoin private keys in your home safe. Whether it’s digital cash or paper cash, once it’s in your safe, that’s the only place that it exists. That money doesn’t exist anywhere else in the universe except for inside of your safe, waiting for you to pull it out and spend it.

Of course, when you’re dealing with a string of numbers of letters, you don’t need a bank to store it. You can keep it on an encrypted device, you can hide it inside of a book in your home, or you can even just memorize it! No matter how you store your private keys, your money is safe.

When you’re dealing with cash, you quickly realize that keeping it around your house in large quantities is a bad idea. That’s when a bank account comes in handy.

Once you purchase Bitcoin for the first time, you are contributing to an effort that will ultimately drain the lifeblood out of the commercial banking system. This is why Jamie Dimon is strategically trying to create fear. He wants to save his industry.

You are a smart person, so now your mind is probably on the verge of spinning out of control, trying to figure out how in the world a set of secret numbers and letters could possibly represent an infinite amount of money. If you want to start learning about how this works, it will take time and patience. I’d suggest starting with this fantastic video of the best Bitcoin explainer on the planet, Andreas Antonopoulos, educating the Senate of Canada. It’s long, but it’s worth it if you’re really dedicated to learning. Consider it a “master class” on the basics of Bitcoin.

Whether or not you fully grasp it, there is one thing that you need to understand right now: Bitcoin is real, it does work, and it eliminates the need for banks today for anyone who is willing to try it.

If I were Jamie Dimon, I’d be freaking out too.