JP Morgan Chase Chairman & CEO Jamie Dimon appeared on Fox Business recently to discuss his opposition to the CLARITY Act, a crypto regulation bill that is being considered by lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Speaking to Mornings with Maria host Maria Bartiromo, Dimon vowed to push back against the legislative proposal that is being promoted by crypto exchanges including Coinbase and is highly touted by advocacy groups including the Blockchain Association.
When asked about the CLARITY Act markup in the Senate, Jamie Dimon told Bartiromo that he’s not happy with the way the proposal is currently written. “It allows [Coinbase] to effectively pay interest on deposits, stablecoins, and stuff like that, without the protection that they should have,” said Dimon during the Fox Business segment. “The banks will not accept [the CLARITY Act] that way.”
The Harvard Business School graduate added that small banks, credit unions, and the American Banking Association are going to be positioned against the existing language within the bill. When prompted by the Fox Business host regarding what the banking industry will do about the proposal, Dimon stated, “We’ll fight it. If we lose, we lose – and we’ll live – but it will be fought. This will not be… no one’s going to bow down to this guy, okay? Or that company.”
The interview continues as Bartiromo references Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who has become a champion for digital assets and claims to be representing the “whole industry” in the exchange’s desire for federal regulation over digital assets. “He’s full of sh**,” quipped Dimon when the Coinbase chief executive’s position was mentioned.
“If [Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong] takes deposits like a bank, he should have bank rules. We have social requirements, liquidity requirements, capital requirements, AML requirements, financial reporting requirements, transparency requirements: if he wants to be a bank, be a bank. That’s all it is.”
Although Dimon states that the banking sector is “not worried” about customers moving assets away from their traditional checking and savings accounts into crypto wallets, the trend is growing in popularity. Late last month, Coinbase reintroduced direct deposits, which allows employees and contractors to request whole or partial payment from employers into their digital asset accounts.
To date, widespread adoption of this practice has eluded cryptocurrency proponents, but a federal regulatory framework that addresses the status of digital assets – such as the CLARITY Act – could make companies more open to sending accounts payable transactions to platforms such as Coinbase.
Additionally, the US Department of Justice is actively signaling an era of cooperation with digital asset product creators by claiming that Biden-era restrictions and crackdowns of crypto exchanges are a thing of the past. As for the CLARITY Act, it is currently awaiting a full floor vote. If the legislation eventually passes, it is widely expected that President Trump will sign the bill.
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