David Solomon, chair and CEO of financial giant Goldman Sachs, has given his support for a “not perfect” cryptocurrency market structure bill under consideration in the US Senate even as many provisions continue to divide lawmakers and his fellow industry leaders.
According to a Thursday Politico report, Solomon said that the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act was “not perfect” but needed to create a “level playing field to enhance market stability.” Solomon stands out as the head of a major financial company backing the legislation, which many of his peers are opposing by arguing that the bill allows crypto companies to pay users interest or yield on stablecoins outside standard rules for financial institutions.
“The CLARITY Act — like all legislation — is not perfect,” said Solomon, according to Politico. “And there are lots of things that you could debate and argue about. 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.”
Republican lawmakers released the text of the CLARITY Act on Wednesday ahead of a potential vote in the Senate, including provisions on ethics that have concerned many Democrats due to US President Donald Trumps crypto investments. As of Thursday, Senate leaders had not scheduled a vote on the bill.
Related: CLARITY Act stablecoin yield rules finalized: ‘Go time’ for crypto bill
Solomon was one of the few leaders in traditional financial companies to support the crypto bill. Jamie Dimon, who heads JPMorgan Chase, said in a May interview that CLARITY allows crypto companies to pay interest on stablecoins “without the protection that they should have,” something that banks would not accept.
Many Democrats say ethics rules in CLARITY dont go far enough
While the crypto market structure bill is expected to head for a vote in the Senate soon, Republicans there will need some Democratic support to meet the 60-vote threshold. However, many Democrats said that the ethics provisions pushed by Republicans arent earn to earn their votes, in part because it leaves enforcement to the US Justice Department instead of state authorities.
“The bill goes even further to protect the Presidents crypto profits by barring the next Department of Justice from ever holding Trump accountable,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday. “On top of all of this, the underlying bill still fails to adequately protect investors, our financial system, and our national security. This bill should be dead on arrival,” the Massachusetts Democrat said.
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