JPMorgan Chase has put forward an interesting point at its latest quarterly earnings call — stablecoins are not the problem, but certain ways of using stablecoins might be.

Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum responded directly to analyst questions, stating that the company has no objection to supporting blockchain technology, but has strong opinions about interest-bearing stablecoins. Why? Because these tokens are essentially replicating traditional banking functions — accepting deposits, paying interest — but without the regulatory protections that come with them.

Barnum's statement was quite straightforward: "If you create a parallel banking system that has all the functions of a bank, even including 'interest-paying deposits,' but bypasses the risk management mechanisms developed over hundreds of years of banking regulation, that’s obviously dangerous."

What is the background of this statement? Congress is advancing legislation related to digital assets, and the American Bankers Association is lobbying the industry. JPMorgan’s stance actually echoes the regulatory intent of the "Genius Act" — to establish clear regulatory frameworks and issuance standards for stablecoins.

Interestingly, JPMorgan does not oppose innovation and competition per se, but firmly opposes any parallel financial systems operating in regulatory vacuum. This reveals the true concern of traditional financial institutions: they are not afraid of losing market share, but of unseen systemic risks.