Ripple CEO Warns Crypto Bill Has 2 Weeks To Pass

Crypto News

Ripple (XRP) CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the US Senate has roughly two weeks to advance crypto market structure legislation before its chances of passing fall sharply. He made the remarks on May 5 at Consensus 2026 in Miami. The warning came as the Senate Banking Committee has yet to schedule a markup hearing on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.

"If it doesn't happen, then I think the likelihood is going to drop precipitously," Garlinghouse said. He pointed to the approaching midterm election cycle as the reason. Once campaigns intensify, he argued, there is little political bandwidth left for complex legislation. He added that post-election prospects are even weaker.

The CLARITY Act would create a federal framework for regulating digital assets for the first time. A central provision allocates oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The House passed its version last year. The Senate has moved more slowly, and two committees must approve the bill before it can advance.

Stablecoin Compromise Clears 1 Hurdle

The Senate Agriculture Committee has already passed its version of the bill. The Banking Committee stalled over how to treat stablecoin rewards programs. On May 1, Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis reached a compromise designed to allow crypto firms to offer certain rewards without creating yield-bearing accounts that resemble bank deposits. Most crypto industry participants have accepted the deal, though a coalition of banking groups said it falls short. Open issues also remain around crypto-related conflicts of interest and illicit finance concerns.

Garlinghouse acknowledged the bill is imperfect. "Do I think it's perfect? Hell, no," he said. "There's tradeoffs and compromises, but I do think clarity is better than chaos." His broader argument is that legislation creates permanence that agency guidance cannot provide on its own.

Current SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has taken a more permissive stance toward crypto than his predecessor, Gary Gensler. Gensler treated most cryptocurrencies as securities and brought enforcement actions against major industry players. Garlinghouse argued that without a law codifying the current direction, a future SEC chair could reverse it. "Codified into law means you kind of can't go back," he said.

XRP Case Shapes Garlinghouse's Push for Clarity

Ripple has direct experience with regulatory ambiguity. The SEC sued the company in 2020, alleging it raised $1.3 billion through sales of XRP (XRP) as an unregistered security. A federal judge later ruled that programmatic sales did not violate securities law due to a blind bid process. The judge also found that direct institutional sales did constitute securities transactions, and that XRP is not inherently a security, with classification depending on how it is sold.

Garlinghouse said that the ruling provided clarity for XRP but left the broader industry without guidance on other digital assets. At Consensus, he also projected that the global stablecoin market will reach $3 trillion by 2031. The current market stands at roughly $320 billion, led by Tether's USDT. Ripple launched its own stablecoin, RLUSD, in 2024.