Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse publicly called for Congress to advance the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act on July 22, endorsing a message from Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty with the statement: "Perfect can't be the enemy of good. Let's get this done!" The push comes as the bill sits in active Senate negotiations, with seven Senate Democrats seeking stronger consumer and enforcement safeguards before any floor vote. Garlinghouse and Alderoty framed the CLARITY Act as a consumer protection measure, citing strengthened anti-money laundering requirements, expanded enforcement tools, and new authority for state attorneys general. Ripple global co-head of public policy Lauren Belive warned that rejecting the bill could leave digital asset users exposed to structural gaps that enabled the FTX collapse. The advocacy reflects Ripple's position that the CLARITY Act represents the final legislative barrier to XRP achieving institutional scale through CFTC commodity classification, which would expand institutional access currently limited by regulatory ambiguity.
Ripple Executives Frame CLARITY Act as Consumer Protection Infrastructure
Alderoty framed the CLARITY Act explicitly as a consumer protection measure, pointing to its strengthened anti-money laundering requirements, expanded enforcement tools for law enforcement agencies, and new authority for state attorneys general. Garlinghouse endorsed that framing wholesale. Belive sharpened the stakes further, warning that rejecting the bill could leave digital asset users exposed to the same structural gaps that enabled the FTX collapse. The institutional dimension is central to Ripple's advocacy calculus. Garlinghouse has repeatedly described the CLARITY Act as the final legislative barrier to XRP achieving genuine institutional crypto scale, the kind of CFTC commodity classification that would help expand institutional access.
Senator Lummis Anchors Republican Defense Amid Democrat Holdouts
Senator Cynthia Lummis has continued anchoring the bill's Republican defense, framing CLARITY as a framework that sharpens regulator accountability, improves market oversight, and gives compliant companies defined operating rules. Her argument is that clearer federal standards benefit both legitimate firms and the regulators tasked with policing misconduct, a position designed to draw Democratic votes by rebranding the bill as enforcement infrastructure, not industry relief. That argument has not yet closed the gap with Senate holdouts. With concerns centering on oversight requirements and financial consumer protections, Garlinghouse is now publicly pressuring lawmakers to resolve.
Fidelity and Goldman Sachs Join 200+ Organizations Backing Federal Framework
Support for the CLARITY Act has moved well beyond the native crypto regulation constituency. Fidelity has pushed directly for Senate action, citing institutional participation trends that make regulatory certainty urgent. Goldman Sachs's chief executive has expressed support for a defined digital asset framework. Stand With Crypto is running a coordinated grassroots campaign to translate user sentiment into congressional contact. More than 200 organizations have joined the formal call for progress on the legislation, with over 1,200 technology firms separately backing a federal crypto framework. The breadth of that coalition is the strongest structural argument Ripple has: when Wall Street incumbents and Silicon Valley supply chains are aligned on the same bill, Senate moderates face real political cost in holding out on procedural grounds alone.
XRP Institutional Friction Persists Due to Unresolved Statutory Classification
For XRP specifically, the stakes are concrete. Institutional friction around Ripple's RLUSD and the broader XRP ecosystem has persisted precisely because statutory classification remains unresolved. Clearer regulatory standards under the CLARITY Act would remove that ambiguity, unlocking access to capital pools that currently treat regulatory gray-area assets as off-limits.
FAQ
What did Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse call for on July 22?
Garlinghouse publicly called for Congress to advance the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act on July 22, endorsing Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty's message: "Perfect can't be the enemy of good. Let's get this done!"
Why are seven Senate Democrats holding out on the CLARITY Act?
Seven Senate Democrats are seeking stronger consumer and enforcement safeguards before any floor vote, with concerns centering on oversight requirements and financial consumer protections.
Which major financial institutions support the CLARITY Act?
Fidelity has pushed directly for Senate action, and Goldman Sachs's chief executive has expressed support for a defined digital asset framework. More than 200 organizations and over 1,200 technology firms have backed a federal crypto framework.
