Trump Calls Out Banks Blocking Crypto
Former President Trump openly criticized banks for impeding the Clarity Act, saying "Americans should earn more money on their money" and the US needs "market structure ASAP." Meanwhile, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon now acknowledges crypto's permanence and calls for a "level playing field," though he still resists stablecoin yields. The Fed has denied crypto banks like Custodia access to master accounts, reinforcing structural barriers.
The legislative focus is on two key pieces of legislation: the "Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act" (often referred to as the CLARITY Act) and the already-passed "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act" (GENIUS Act). The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, created a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers. The subsequent CLARITY Act aims to define the roles of the SEC and CFTC in overseeing the broader crypto market. A major point of contention stalling the CLARITY Act is the issue of stablecoin yields. Banks argue that yield-bearing stablecoins could draw deposits away from their institutions and are pushing to close what they see as loopholes in the GENIUS Act regarding these rewards. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposal to implement the GENIUS Act includes a presumption that any form of yield or interest payment, even through third parties, violates the act. Jamie Dimon's recent comments represent a significant shift from his historical stance. As far back as 2014, he called Bitcoin a "terrible store of value," and in 2017, he famously labeled it a "fraud" and threatened to fire any JPMorgan trader dealing in it. He has often referred to cryptocurrencies as "decentralized Ponzi schemes" and compared them to "pet rocks." The Federal Reserve's denial of a master account to Custodia Bank, a Wyoming-chartered special-purpose depository institution, highlights the regulatory hurdles for crypto-native firms. Custodia applied for the account in October 2020 and sued the Fed after a 19-month delay, but the courts ultimately upheld the Fed's discretion to deny access, citing risks to the financial system. In a significant development for the crypto industry, Kraken Financial, another Wyoming-chartered crypto bank, recently became the first digital asset firm to be granted a Federal Reserve master account. This gives Kraken direct access to the Fed's payment systems, like Fedwire, allowing it to clear transactions without relying on intermediary banks. Former President Trump's recent social media posts accused banks of "threatening and undermining" the GENIUS Act and holding the CLARITY Act "hostage." He met with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shortly before publicly stating that banks "need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry." Trump has positioned this as part of a "powerful Crypto Agenda" to prevent the industry from moving to other countries like China.
