Ripple CEO Takes Aim at JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon Over Clarity Act Crypto Bill Criticism

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse thinks JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon should be clearer about his motives in dissing the Clarity Act, the pending legislation that would provide a regulatory framework for most of the crypto ecosystem in the United States. 

The Ripple head reacted to Dimon’s recent comments on the bill during an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, the same reporter that Dimon spoke with at the end of May when the JPMorgan head took aim at Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brain Armstrong over his backing of the bill.

“What Jamie Dimon did a disservice around… is that he’s representing that this reduces compliance concerns, that it makes it easier to do bad things,” Garlinghouse said of Dimon’s comments to the Fox Business host. 

“That’s just not true,” Garlinghouse added. “It’s either intentionally misrepresentation or even negligent to try to make support for the Clarity Act go away.” 

Dimon’s discontent with the Clarity Act mainly stems from a portion of the bill that would allow crypto exchanges like Coinbase to offer stablecoin yields, or rewards to users maintaining stablecoin balances on their platforms. 

According to Garlinghouse, that’s because JPMorgan would prefer to “maintain the status quo” of its existing business and not face newly empowered rivals from the crypto world. 

“Jamie Dimon also should be clear he is trying to protect and dig a deeper moat for a business that’s extremely profitable for them,” said Garlinghouse. 

The issue of allowing stablecoin yields has been one of the most contentious points of debate for the Clarity Act, with the banking lobby fighting strongly against it. Others, like Coinbase’s Armstrong—urged the necessity of its inclusion, going as far to withdraw support for a draft of the bill that didn’t allow for it.

During his May interview, Dimon said that Armstrong is the “only one” fighting for its inclusion, saying that Armstrong and Coinbase are spending “hundreds of millions of dollars in Washington” on it. Dimon ultimately included that the Coinbase executive is “full of shit.”

While Garlinghouse acknowledged that Armstrong is representing Coinbase, not the entire crypto industry, he noted that “the industry wants clarity, and wants regulation.” 

The bill passed an important Senate Committee vote last month and next will move on to the Senate floor for final approval. Odds of the Clarity Act being signed into law this year stand at just 47% according to prediction market users on Polymarket—about 18% less likely than predictors thought at this time last week.