Dimon: Banks Will Oppose CLARITY Act Without Equal Rules

At the Reagan National Economic Forum on Friday, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that US banks will not accept the current draft of the CLARITY Act and will oppose it unless stablecoin issuers are held to bank-style regulation. He stated firms that take deposit-like stablecoin balances should meet the same capital, liquidity and reporting requirements as regulated lenders.

Dimon criticized a provision in the draft that would let crypto firms pay interest-like rewards on stablecoin balances without the consumer protections applied to banks. He called the text unfair and noted major banking groups reject the current language.

Dimon argued the issue is one of fairness for entities that act like banks. “If he takes deposits like a bank, should have bank rules … If you want to be a bank, be a bank,” he said, adding the American Bankers Association, smaller banks and credit unions oppose the bill as drafted.

He raised compliance concerns if stablecoin issuers were exempted from the Bank Secrecy Act and standard anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer controls. Dimon warned that funds moving out of regulated systems can quickly go into anonymous wallets, saying they can “goes to third wallet, fourth wallet, maybe sex trafficker.”

Dimon distanced JPMorgan from stablecoins as a consumer product while noting the bank is developing JPM Deposit Coin for institutional use. He said he is not inclined to use retail stablecoins, adding, “I am not that worried about stablecoin. I would have nothing to do with it. Would blow up on its own.”

The CLARITY Act is scheduled for congressional markup. The debate has placed the nation’s largest bank at odds with major crypto firms after a leading exchange withdrew support following changes to stablecoin yield provisions. Dimon vowed the banking industry will press lawmakers to require equal regulatory standards for entities that hold deposit-like stablecoin balances.