Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon has publicly endorsed the Clarity Act, a cryptocurrency market-structure bill now advancing toward a potential Senate floor vote—positioning one of Wall Street's largest banks apart from much of the industry.

In an interview with Politico, Solomon expressed strong support for the legislation. "I'm very supportive of moving the Clarity Act forward, so we can get some market structure in place and start to move the innovation process along," he said.

If passed and signed into law, the Clarity Act would formally legalize most cryptocurrency activity in the United States by classifying most crypto assets as non-securities and outside the purview of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bill also includes provisions to protect decentralized software developers and addresses the practice of offering rewards on stablecoin balances. The legislation represents the second major pillar of Congress's recent crypto rulemaking push, following the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework enacted last year. The House previously passed its own market-structure bill, FIT21, in 2024 with bipartisan support, leaving Senate action as the remaining legislative bottleneck.

Solomon acknowledged that the legislation has room for improvement, telling Politico that "like all legislation," the bill "is not perfect" and leaves plenty to debate. Its central value, he argued, lies in creating "a level playing field to enhance market stability and allow these markets to develop appropriately." Solomon also suggested the framework could attract more institutional participants to crypto markets—a stated strategic priority for Goldman, which has steadily expanded its digital asset operations since the 2024 approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds opened the door to broader Wall Street involvement.

Division Over Stablecoin Yield

Solomon's endorsement sets him apart from the broader banking sector, which has spent months fighting one provision in particular: language governing yield on stablecoins. Stablecoins are blockchain-based tokens designed to hold a steady value, typically pegged one-to-one with the U.S. dollar. Traders use them to enter and exit positions without directly accessing dollars, while other market participants use them for payments and international remittances. The total stablecoin market now exceeds $250 billion in circulating supply, making the yield question a significant commercial flashpoint.

For years, crypto companies such as Coinbase have offered rewards on certain stablecoin balances, including the Circle-issued USDC. These rewards can range from 3–5% APY, significantly exceeding what banks typically offer on traditional savings accounts. The practice—now commonly referred to as stablecoin yield—was effectively codified into law through the passage of the GENIUS Act last year.

Banks and their Washington lobbyists have been fighting to change this ever since, viewing the Clarity Act as their opportunity to close what they consider a loophole in the law.

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has been the most vocal critic of stablecoin yield. During a May appearance on Fox Business, he argued that allowing crypto firms to pay rewards on dollar-pegged tokens without bank-equivalent oversight would hand them an unfair edge. "The banks will not accept it that way," Dimon said at the time.

The industry's objections run deep. In May, a coalition of the nation's top banking trade groups warned senators that a proposed compromise on stablecoin yield contained loopholes that would enable "evasion" of the intended limits, cautioning that such rewards could pull deposits away from traditional lenders. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has countered that banks are lobbying to undermine stablecoin rewards precisely because they threaten deposit-based business models.

Senate Path Remains Uncertain

Solomon's endorsement comes at a pivotal moment. Republican senators this week circulated updated bill text that preserves the core market framework while adding new ethics provisions restricting officials—language Democrats have already blasted as insufficient to address President Donald Trump's crypto dealings.

With disputes over both stablecoin yield and ethics provisions still unresolved, the Clarity Act's path through the Senate remains uncertain ahead of a vote lawmakers hope to hold before the August recess.