JPMorgan CEO Warns US Dollar Could Lose Reserve Status Without Reform

JPMorgan CEO delivers a dire wake-up call as he warns that internal chaos could dethrone the U.S. dollar and shatter American global supremacy.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Questions Future of US Dollar as Reserve Currency Amid Domestic Decline

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon issued a stern warning at the Reagan National Economic Forum on Friday, asserting that the most serious threat to the United States does not come from abroad, but from within its own borders.

Dimon, who has led the largest U.S. bank for nearly two decades, characterized America’s internal mismanagement as “extraordinary” and warned of its consequences on everything from military dominance to economic credibility. “That stuff is going to kill us,” he said, pointing to fiscal missteps at every level of government and specifically calling out public pensions and budget planning failures. His central concern: the weakening case for the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Dimon shared:

I always get asked this question: ‘Are we going to be the reserve currency?’ And no, if we are not the preeminent military and the preeminent economy, in 40 years, we will not be the reserve currency. That’s a fact, just read history.

He emphasized that the U.S. has added $10 trillion in debt in just five years, pushing the national debt to 100% of GDP and placing the peacetime deficit at nearly 7%.

While acknowledging China as a capable and complex global competitor, the JPMorgan Chase chief executive shifted the spotlight to domestic vulnerabilities that he believes could undermine America’s standing in the world. “I’m not as worried about China. China is a potential adversary. They’re doing a lot of things well. They have a lot of problems. What I really worry about is us. Can we get our own act together? Our own values, our own capability, our own management?” he stated during the forum.

Amid the grim assessment, Dimon reiterated the need for rapid reform. He has cautioned that protectionist policies must not isolate the U.S. from its global partners, warning against what he calls the “America alone” scenario. While he affirmed Warren Buffett’s confidence in American resilience, Dimon stressed that urgency is now essential, stating:

This time is different. This time we have to get our act together and we have to do it very quickly.

Meanwhile, crypto advocates continue to argue that alternatives like bitcoin may serve as a long-term hedge against the very fiscal instability Dimon warns about, offering decentralized protections against currency depreciation and centralized policy failures. Nonetheless, the JPMorgan boss recently emphasized that the U.S. should prioritize stockpiling military equipment and critical resources—such as guns, ammunition, tanks, planes, drones, and rare earth elements—rather than bitcoin or any other digital assets.