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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told Consensus 2026 in Miami Beach on Tuesday that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has roughly a two-week window to reach a Senate Banking Committee markup before its odds of passing this Congress fall "precipitously." The market-structure bill, the crypto industry's top federal policy priority, is still awaiting a hearing date, with bank lobbyists publicly cool on the latest compromise language unveiled last week on stablecoin yield.
Garlinghouse said the trade-offs baked into the current draft are imperfect but defensible. "Do I think it's perfect? Hell, no," he said. "There's tradeoffs and compromises, but I do think clarity is better than chaos." The stablecoin provision attempts a middle path — letting crypto firms run rewards programs while barring yield-bearing stablecoin accounts that would compete directly with bank interest-bearing deposits. Crypto insiders have largely accepted the deal; a banking coalition said this week it "falls short."
Why it matters
Garlinghouse framed the bill's value less around its specifics and more around durability. The current SEC under Chairman Paul Atkins has built a crypto-friendly posture through rulemaking and guidance, but those policies survive only as long as the next chair lets them. "There will be another Paul Atkins after Paul who we don't know which side of this argument they're going to fall on," Garlinghouse said. Codifying the framework into statute, in his view, is the only way to lock the policy in across administrations — regardless of how the trend line moves on its own.
Market impact
The $XRP-linked legislative moment lands alongside Garlinghouse's separate prediction that the stablecoin market will reach $3 trillion by 2031. Ripple Labs has already launched its own stablecoin, putting the company on the issuer side of a market whose U.S. treatment the Clarity Act would help define. For XRP traders, the next concrete catalyst is the Senate Banking Committee scheduling a markup — the binary event Garlinghouse said will decide whether the bill lives or dies this cycle.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the Clarity Act and what would it do?
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is the crypto industry's top federal market-structure priority. It aims to draw clearer lines between SEC and CFTC jurisdiction over digital assets and to set ground rules for stablecoin issuance, including a compromise on yield-bearing products.
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Why did Garlinghouse say the next two weeks matter?
He said the bill needs a Senate Banking Committee markup inside that window to have a realistic shot at passing this Congress. Without a hearing date soon, he warned, the likelihood of passage falls "precipitously" as election-year dynamics take over.
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What is the stablecoin-yield compromise?
The latest language lets crypto firms run rewards programs but bars yield-bearing stablecoin accounts that would compete directly with bank interest-bearing deposits. Crypto insiders have largely accepted it; a banking coalition said this week the deal "falls short."
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Why does Garlinghouse want the bill codified into law?
Current pro-crypto policy at the SEC was built by Chairman Paul Atkins through guidance and rulemaking. Garlinghouse warned that a future chair could unwind it, and argued only a statute can lock the framework in across administrations.
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What is Garlinghouse's stablecoin market forecast?
At Consensus 2026, Garlinghouse predicted the stablecoin market will reach $3 trillion by 2031. Ripple Labs has already launched its own stablecoin, putting the company on the issuer side of a market whose U.S. treatment the Clarity Act would help define.
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