In an interview with Fox Business on May 29, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon publicly intensified his criticism of the CLARITY Act, the U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill, and pointed the finger at Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. The core of the controversy remains the stablecoin yield arrangement, an issue that has continued to slow the bill's progress in recent months.
The controversy centers on stablecoin yields
Dimon stated that the banking industry cannot accept the current version of the Clarity Act, and that its provisions will continue to face opposition. Under existing legal arrangements, the GENIUS Act, signed by Trump last July, prohibits stablecoin issuers such as Tether and Circle from directly providing returns to customers, but allows third-party platforms like Coinbase to offer stablecoin holders interest-like returns.
This is precisely the part that the banking industry is most dissatisfied with. Banking institutions have been hoping for stricter restrictions in the Clarity Act to close off the space for third-party platforms to offer stablecoin yields; while crypto companies like Coinbase want to retain this business.
The divide between the banking sector and crypto platforms is widening.
In the interview, Dimon stated that the banking industry would continue to oppose the bill, adding, "If we lose, we lose." When specifically asked about Coinbase, he further accused Armstrong of investing significant lobbying resources in Washington and denied that Armstrong represented the entire industry.
The report mentions that disagreements over stablecoin reward terms have delayed the CLARITY Act's progress by more than four months. Coinbase also withdrew its support for the bill at one point due to the lack of a clear compromise agreement.
The bill has passed the key committee vote.
Despite ongoing controversy, the CLARITY Act passed a key vote in the Senate Banking Committee earlier this month and will next be submitted to the full Senate for consideration and final approval.
Trump reiterated his desire this week to push the bill through to establish the structure of the US digital asset market. According to current data from Polymarket, there is approximately a 59% probability that the bill will be signed into law by the end of 2026.
Dimon had previously commented on stablecoin yields in March, stating that if institutions wanted to engage in similar banking activities, they should be directly subject to banking regulation. He also noted at the time that such arrangements would eventually reveal their own problems.
