Goldman Sachs CEO backs Clarity Act despite banking industry’s concerns over stablecoin rules

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has thrown his support behind the CLARITY Act, saying the legislation would provide much-needed regulatory certainty for the digital asset industry even as some of Wall Street’s biggest banks continue to oppose key provisions of the bill.

“The CLARITY Act — like all legislation — is not perfect. And there are lots of things that you could debate and argue about,” Solomon told Politico in an interview. “But I think one of the most important things that it does is that it creates a level playing field to enhance market stability and allow these markets to develop appropriately.”

“I’m very supportive of moving the CLARITY Act forward, so we can get some market structure in place and start to move the innovation process along,” he added.

The remarks came as Republican senators circulated updated text of the bill ahead of a possible Senate floor vote next week, marking another step toward advancing long-awaited crypto market structure legislation.

Solomon’s endorsement contrasts with growing opposition from other major banking executives, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who have 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 dissatisfied with the latest version of the bill because “it allows them to effectively pay interest on deposits, stablecoins or something like that, without protection that they should have.”

“The banks will not accept it that way,” Dimon said. “I’m not worried about stablecoins but if it happened I’m telling you I will have nothing to do with it and it will eventually blow up.”

JPMorgan has also warned that crypto legislation should close regulatory gaps rather than create new ones. In a blog post published in June, executives at the bank argued that firms offering products that function 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 negotiations over the CLARITY Act. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has argued that banks are lobbying lawmakers to restrict stablecoin rewards because they threaten banks’ deposit-based business models, while banking executives contend that crypto firms offering bank-like products should be regulated like banks.

Solomon’s comments also echo remarks he made in February criticizing the economic costs of excessive regulation.

“When you burden this system with excessive regulation, you start to extract capital,” he said at the time. While acknowledging the need for oversight, Solomon added that regulation “has got to be done thoughtfully, and we’ve got to get it right.”

The CLARITY Act would establish a regulatory framework for digital assets by defining the respective roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Lawmakers are still negotiating provisions covering stablecoin issuers, consumer protections and yield-bearing products before the legislation can advance through Congress.