JPMorgan CEO Goes Nuclear On CLARITY Act, Calling Coinbase’s Armstrong ‘Full Of S-t’

As lawmakers advance the crypto bill closer to completion, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon attacked Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and criticized the CLARITY Act on Friday.

Speaking at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Dimon said banks “will not accept” the CLARITY Act in its current form. He also suggested that efforts by crypto proponents are unlikely to produce a broad consensus with traditional financial institutions. 

“It will be fought. No one’s gonna bow down to this guy, or that company,” Dimon said, referring to the act and Armstrong. Dimon continued: “He’s the only one, and he’s spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Washington on this thing… He’s full of shit.”

As reported by NewsBTC on Thursday, the bill advanced in the Senate earlier this month. The Senate Banking Committee approved its portion, building on earlier progress from January, when the Agriculture Committee successfully voted on its version of the legislation.

After a full Senate vote, lawmakers would need to complete the reconciliation steps required to finalize the measure and then secure agreement between the House and the Senate. Only after those steps would the final text move to the president for consideration.

Dimon argued that the bill contains fundamental problems. He said the legislation would allow banks to earn interest on deposits, stablecoins, or related instruments “without the protection they should have,” and he also contended that it fails to address anti-money laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act requirements sufficiently. 

“It allows them to effectively pay interest on deposits, stablecoins, or something like that, without the protection they should have. And it does not do anything for AML/BSA,” Dimon said.

The executive further emphasized that the pushback would not be limited to a single type of institution or one segment of the industry. He said banks of different sizes would oppose the CLARITY Act as currently written, arguing that unity spans both large and smaller players. 

“The banks will not accept it that way,” Dimon said. “The ABA [American Bankers Association], the small banks, the credit unions. It’s not just the big guys.”

Featured image from CNBC; chart from TradingView.com