Jamie Dimon says that issuers of interest-bearing stablecoins should follow banking rules.

• Jamie Dimon advocates for banking regulation for stablecoin issuers.
• Debate over the Clarity Act intensifies discussion in Washington.
• Banks call for regulatory parity in the cryptocurrency market.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated that companies that issue stablecoins and pay interest on customer balances should be regulated like banks. This statement reignites the debate in Washington about how to structure the rules for the cryptocurrency sector in the United States.

During an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Dimon commented on discussions surrounding the CLARITY Act bill and recent disagreements with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. The executive argued that there is an important difference between transaction-linked rewards and interest paid on user deposits.

According to him, when platforms start paying out on balances stored by customers, the operating model becomes directly similar to traditional banking activities. In that case, Dimon stated, these companies should comply with the same requirements applied to the regulated financial system.

“Rewards are the same as interest,” Dimon said. “If you’re going to hold balances and pay interest, that’s the bank’s responsibility. You should be regulated by a bank.”

The executive explained that banks could accept a scenario in which cryptocurrency platforms offer rewards related to network usage or transactional activities. However, companies acting as depository institutions would need to follow rules similar to those of the banking system.

These requirements would include capital and liquidity standards, anti-money laundering mechanisms, and requirements associated with federal deposit insurance. According to Dimon, applying equivalent rules would be fundamental to ensuring level playing field in competition.

"A level playing field by product," he said, arguing that companies offering similar financial services should operate under comparable levels of supervision.

The discussion takes place at a time of tension between sectors of the market. Brian Armstrong recently argued that banks should compete directly with cryptocurrency platforms, a position that contrasts with the view presented by Dimon.

Even so, the CEO of JPMorgan emphasized that the financial institution is not opposed to technological innovation. The bank uses blockchain in several internal operations and has already developed a deposit token for financial transactions on distributed ledger networks.

"We are in favor of competition," he said. "But it needs to be fair and balanced."

Dimon also highlighted that banks face an extensive regulatory compliance burden, including anti-money laundering rules and obligations related to community lending. According to him, these requirements exist to protect the stability of the financial system.

"For the security of the system, and not just for the fairness of competition," said Dimon.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington continue to evaluate proposals to regulate cryptocurrencies. The goal is to establish clear rules without shifting the activity to less supervised areas of the financial market.