JPMorgan CFO: Yield-generating stablecoins may create a "dangerous parallel banking system"

PANews reported on January 14th, citing Cointelegraph, that JPMorgan Chase CFO Jeremy Barnum warned during the Q4 earnings call that yield-generating stablecoins could create a "parallel banking system" lacking the regulatory safeguards of traditional banks, which he described as "dangerous and undesirable." Barnum stated that JPMorgan Chase supports the GENIUS Act's initial intention to provide safeguards for stablecoin issuance, but opposes alternative systems that possess banking characteristics (such as interest-bearing deposit functions) but are not subject to corresponding prudential regulation. He added that while banks welcome competition and innovation, they strongly oppose the formation of a parallel banking system outside of existing regulatory protections.

Previously, the US banking industry had expressed concerns that yield-generating stablecoins could disrupt its business model. The recently drafted amendment to the Digital Asset Markets Clarity Act, currently under consideration, explicitly prohibits digital asset service providers from paying interest or returns "solely for holding stablecoins," aiming to prevent stablecoins from functioning like bank deposits. However, the draft still retains incentive space for ecosystem contributions such as liquidity provision, governance participation, and staking.