JP Morgan chief executive officer Jamie Dimon has labeled bitcoin a ‘fraud’ adding he would fire any trader who traded it.

Speaking Tuesday at the Delivering Alpha conference in New York, Dimon predicted that the cryptocurrency will eventually blow up and that it was 'not a real thing.'

According to reports, he said: ‘You can’t have a business where people are going to invent a currency out of thin air. It won’t end well…someone is going to get killed and then the government is going to come down on it.’

One bitcoin is currently worth around $3,993. 

The cryptocurrency has seen massive gains this year. A recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of global fund managers found that 'long bitcoin' was the most crowded trade going. 

‘It's worse than tulip bulbs. It won't end well. Someone is going to get killed,’ he said.

Tulips are a reference to the mania that swept Holland in the 17th century, where prices of virtually worthless tulip bulbs were driven to exorbitant levels.

Dimon added: ‘Don’t ask me to short it, it could be at $20,000 before this happens but it will eventually blow up. It’s a fraud and honestly I’m just shocked anyone can’t see it for what it is.’