Key Takeaways:
Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse called on the U.S. Senate to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before the August recess, warning that delaying the bill past the 21-day window could push the process into 2027.
"My thoughts exactly. Perfect can't be the enemy of good. Let's get this done," Garlinghouse wrote on X, responding to Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, who described the legislation as a consumer protection bill with strong anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer requirements.
The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill by a bipartisan 15-9 vote in May. But the legislation faces two unresolved disputes: an ethics clause governing crypto holdings by federal officials, and whether stablecoin platforms may offer returns to customers. Galaxy Digital Chief Executive Mike Novogratz said negotiations were down to "word smithing" around the ethics provision. Senate Majority Leader John Thune aims for a floor vote in the coming week, according to Punchbowl News.
Missing the Aug. 10 recess deadline would not kill the bill, but the approaching midterm elections and competition from other legislative priorities would leave limited time for a floor vote. If Congress fails to complete the process before its current term ends in January, the unfinished legislation would expire, requiring reintroduction in the new Congress — a process that could extend into 2027.
The bill's path remains uncertain. Republican senators John Curtis of Utah and John Cornyn of Texas told Punchbowl News they share the banking lobby's concern that stablecoin yield provisions could pull deposits out of insured accounts. Six of the largest banking trade groups, including the American Bankers Association, published a statement Wednesday calling the language a risk to local lending.
Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon broke with rival bankers, telling Politico he supports moving the bill forward. "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," Solomon said. Goldman has disclosed a $1.1 billion position in a spot bitcoin ETF.
Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong also backed the legislation, saying the bill is ready for a full Senate floor vote. "The status quo in the U.S. isn't working," Armstrong said. "There's no federal framework, so bad actors like FTX can harm U.S. customers."
Passing the CLARITY Act would write the commodity classification of tokens like XRP permanently into federal statute, moving jurisdiction from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Sam Daodu, an analyst at 24/7 Wall St., estimated that between $4 billion and $8 billion in additional institutional money could enter the market if the legislation provides permanent legal certainty, with analysts projecting XRP could push toward the $5 range.
Prominent XRP bull Charusan has argued the token is significantly undervalued, claiming it should already trade at $15 and reiterating a forecast of $324.22 based on assumptions about institutional liquidity velocity. The calculation assumes $1.2 trillion in daily volume from clearing and cross-border banking routed through XRP-based settlement, a scenario critics say overstates mandatory token adoption.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican and one of the legislation's most prominent supporters, issued another call for its passage. "If something is genuinely decentralized, it should not be regulated like a bank," Lummis said. "Getting that distinction right took years of work, and we finally have the opportunity to make it law. Let's pass the Clarity Act."
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
