Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon have become key figures in the latest debate over the CLARITY Act as the bill advances in the Senate.
Speaking to CNBC on Wednesday, Lummis directly addressed Dimon’s latest comments regarding the CLARITY Act and his criticism of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
Lummis Pushes Back On Dimon’s CLARITY Act Criticism
Dimon, a longtime skeptic of crypto, has previously questioned the role of digital assets in financial markets, and his criticism last week included the view that banks would not accept the CLARITY Act in its current form.
Dimon suggested that the banking industry would resist the bill as written and framed the confrontation as something that would be “fought.” He also said no one would “bow down” to Armstrong or his company.
Lummis, however, said Dimon’s critique is “absolutely wrong.” In her remarks on Wednesday, she argued that Dimon has not read the legislation.
The Senator specifically challenged the executive’s comments about the bill’s anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and how it treats software developers. In her view, Dimon’s description of the CLARITY Act does not match what is actually in the text.
Dimon has argued that the proposed CLARITY Act, along with crypto stablecoins, does not provide sufficient AML and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) safeguards. He suggested that if crypto firms perform functions similar to banks, then they should be held to the same standards as traditional financial institutions.
Lummis disagreed with that framing, saying the approach is incorrect because the legislation does, in fact, build on existing requirements that already apply to banks.
To support that point, Lummis said the CLARITY Act contains more than 1,600 references to AML and BSA provisions, and that those requirements would continue applying to digital-asset activities under the bill’s structure.
Next Steps For Crypto Bill Package
Beyond responding to Dimon’s criticism, Lummis discussed what comes next for the CLARITY Act as it moves toward final consideration by the full Senate.
She said the Senate is working toward combining different components of the overall package—specifically, merging the CLARITY Act’s US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related provisions with commodity market elements developed through the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Lummis also said that lawmakers are planning revisions to the country’s first crypto bill, the GENIUS Act, which governs stablecoins, as well as to ethics-related provisions, to present a unified bill to the floor.
The Senator disclosed she has been coordinating with other senators, including Bill Hagerty, Angela Alsobrooks, and Thom Tillis, as part of an effort to assemble the final package.
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