Coinbase and JPMorgan CEOs Clashed over Market Structure Bill at Davos

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly confronted Brian Armstrong during a coffee chat at Davos last week, telling the Coinbase CEO to stop lying about banks trying to sabotage the digital asset market structure bill under consideration in the US Congress.

According to a Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal, the confrontation between Dimon and Armstrong occurred at the World Economic Forum last week when the Coinbase CEO was having coffee with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Dimon reportedly interrupted Armstrong, saying the CEO was “full of s—,” referring to TV interviews in which the Coinbase CEO accused banks of interfering with the US market structure bill. 

Banking industry advocates have opposed allowing stablecoin rewards under the legislation. However, many in the crypto industry, including Armstrong, have pushed for the bill to include provisions on stablecoin yield, claiming that to do otherwise would allow “banks to ban their competition.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Armstrong received a cold reception from other banking industry leaders. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan reportedly told the Coinbase CEO, “if you want to be a bank, just be a bank,” referring to the crypto exchange. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf reportedly refused to discuss the matter with Armstrong.

Related: Trump administration to convene banks, crypto firms over CLARITY Act impasse

The market structure bill, which has been under consideration in the US Senate since passing in the House of Representatives in July, faces considerable opposition from Democratic lawmakers over ethics provisions and banking and crypto lobbyists for potential implications for their respective industries. 

“The fight over rewards is really an anomaly in our collaborative relationship with the banks,” said Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad, according to the Wall Street Journal. “We work closely with them and have announced multiple partnerships.”

A Coinbase spokesperson told Cointelegraph the company didn’t have “anything new to add” about the report.

US market structure bill split into two committees

The Senate Banking Committee was expected to hold a markup for its version of the market structure bill on Jan. 15, but postponed the event indefinitely after Armstrong said Coinbase could not support the legislation “as written.” As of Friday, the committee had not rescheduled its markup.

The Senate Agriculture Committee, overseeing commodities laws and regulations, voted to advance its bill along party lines on Thursday. According to lawmakers at the event, the bill would need to be combined with the banking committee’s version before a vote in the Senate.