Solomon’s approval contrasts with growing opposition from other major bank executives, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who has argued that the legislation could put traditional banks at a competitive disadvantage by allowing crypto companies to offer yield-bearing stablecoin products that resemble bank deposits without being subject to the same regulatory framework.
Speaking to Fox Business in May, Dimon said he was unhappy with the latest version of the bill because “it allows them to effectively pay interest on deposits, stablecoins or something like that, without the protections they should have.”
“The banks won’t accept it that way,” Dimon said. “I’m not worried about stablecoins, but if that happened, I’m telling you I don’t want anything to do with it and it will eventually blow up.”
JPMorgan has also warned that crypto legislation should close regulatory loopholes rather than create new ones. In a blog post published in June, executives at the bank argued that companies that offer products that act like traditional bank accounts should face comparable oversight and consumer protections.
The debate over stablecoin rewards has become one of the biggest sticking points in the CLARITY Act negotiations. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has argued that banks are lobbying lawmakers to limit stablecoin rewards because they threaten banks’ deposit-based business models, while bank executives argue that crypto firms that offer bank-like products should be regulated like banks.
