XRP holds at $1.10 as Congress schedules Clarity Act hearing for July 17

The Clarity Act, which would create the first federal framework for crypto market structure, faces a Senate hearing on July 17 as XRP trades flat at $1.10.

The US Senate will hold a hearing on the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act on July 17, House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill said, as XRP traded at $1.10 with a 0.02% gain on July 11 and volumes down 25% to $762 million.

"If we passed the CLARITY Act last summer, many of the things that people are expressing concern about — meme coin issuance, co-investment, use of exchange, investing in exchanges — all that would be under a market framework of regulation with clarity," Hill said in a Fox Business interview with anchor Maria Bartiromo.

The bill, which passed the House a year ago with support from 78 Democrats, would draw clear jurisdictional boundaries between the CFTC and the SEC for digital assets. Hill pressed Senate leaders for a floor vote before the August recess, with the Senate returning July 13 and about three weeks before the break. Prediction market Polymarket prices Clarity Act 2026 passage near 39%, down from 74% a month earlier.

The hearing comes as XRP, the token at the center of a years-long SEC enforcement action, stands to benefit directly from a market structure framework that clarifies which digital assets are securities versus commodities. Ripple's partial legal victory in 2023 established that programmatic XRP sales were not securities, but the Clarity Act would codify such distinctions into law.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig warned that a stalled bill leaves the rules to regulators. "Otherwise, you end up with regulators like me writing all the rules," Selig said on Fox Business, urging bipartisan support for the measure. He cautioned against "mission creep beyond what's really critical here" as ethics concerns tied to President Trump's crypto ventures have become a point of contention among some Democrats.

Coinbase Vice Chair Ryan VanGrack, a former SEC official, described the bill as "on the one-yard line," with senators from both parties "working around the clock to get this across the finish line."

Hill plans a field hearing in New York next week, led by digital assets subcommittee chair Rep. Bryan Steil, to build momentum. The Clarity Act pairs with the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law enacted last year, which Hill described as the foundation for a broader market framework. "Stablecoin is like a cell phone not connected to a cell phone network," he said, "and the market framework is in fact that network that we need."

XRP's muted price action reflects the uncertainty around the bill's prospects. Polymarket's 39% probability for 2026 passage represents a sharp decline from the prior month's 74%, suggesting traders see significant hurdles in the Senate despite bipartisan House support. The July 17 hearing will be the next major test of whether the bill can overcome those obstacles before the August recess deadline.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.