Jamie Dimon has a blunt message for the crypto industry, which is you don't get to enjoy the benefits of the banking system without accepting its responsibilities. Speaking with Maria Bartiro
Jamie Dimon has a blunt message for the crypto industry, which is you don't get to enjoy the benefits of the banking system without accepting its responsibilities.
Speaking with Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business, the JPMorgan CEO made his position clear.
"If you want to be a bank, be a bank."
If platforms like Coinbase want to take deposits and pay rewards to customers, Dimon said they should be subject to the same capital requirements, liquidity rules, and regulatory oversight that traditional banks face every day.
"We have 84 regulators all over us," Dimon said. "We're just saying it should be fair and equal. Period."
Related: JPMorgan issues stark warning on 2026's most crowded trade
Asked directly whether he was satisfied with the direction of the legislation, Dimon didn't hesitate to say no.
The CLARITY Act, the market structure bill for digital assets, passed the Senate Banking Committee markup on May 14. One of its biggest sticking points is whether crypto platforms can pay yield on stablecoin balances.
Dimon's core objection is that the bill, as written, would let stablecoin issuers effectively pay interest on customer balances without the anti-money laundering (AML), Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), or Know Your Customer (KYC) protections that banks are legally required to maintain.
"That [CLARITY Act] doesn't do anything for AML or BSA. No legal protections. The banks will not accept it that way." said Dimon.
Dimon did acknowledge that stablecoins could eventually become a legitimate payment system, and noted that JPMorgan already has its own deposit coin. But he framed the current legislative path as a fight worth having.
"If we lose, we lose. We'll live. But it will be fought."
During the conversation, Bartiromo brought up Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, who has been a vocal advocate for crypto-friendly legislation and for letting platforms pay stablecoin yields.
Dimon did not use Armstrong's name, but he accused a single individual of spending "hundreds of millions of dollars" to push crypto-friendly legislation through Washington.
The remark lands in the middle of a public feud. Armstrong has been among the loudest voices pressing for rules that would let crypto platforms offer yield without bank-level oversight, and Coinbase and other crypto firms have poured money into pro-crypto political spending over the past two years.
Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad, said:
"At the end of the day, we all share the same goal: improving the financial lives of Americans. Millions of Americans believe this includes preserving rewards programs and passing clear rules that protect consumers while keeping America at the forefront of financial innovation. It’s time for the Senate to bring the CLARITY Act to the floor."
Related: 'The Good, Bad and Ugly': Film Looks at CEO Brian Armstrong's Creation of Coinbase
