Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said on Aug. 22 that the U.S. is “closer than ever” to establishing clear cryptocurrency rules following a week of regulatory meetings in Washington.
Summary
- Garlinghouse joined CFTC committee’s inaugural meeting on August 20 alongside leaders from finance and crypto.
- SEC and CFTC guidance established five token categories but did not create binding federal legislation.
- CLARITY Act faces September 15 cloture vote, requiring 60 senators to advance toward floor consideration.
- Ripple’s SEC cross-appeals were dismissed, leaving $125 million penalty and injunction in force under judgment.
Garlinghouse made the assessment after attending the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s inaugural Innovation Advisory Committee meeting on Aug. 20. His statement represents his view rather than a completed change in federal law. Congress has not enacted the comprehensive market structure legislation sought by Ripple and other crypto companies.
Ripple CEO joins CFTC policy discussions
Garlinghouse said the committee’s participants agreed that financial rules written for an earlier period no longer adequately address digital assets and other emerging technologies.
“Rules written for a different era aren’t good enough. Not for consumers. Not for business. Not for innovation,” Garlinghouse wrote on X.
The CFTC appointed Garlinghouse to the committee in February. Other members include Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Uniswap Labs CEO Hayden Adams, CME Group CEO Terry Duffy, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman and Cboe Global Markets CEO Craig Donohue.
The committee advises the CFTC on technology, finance, law and policy. It cannot enact legislation or independently issue regulations. Its recommendations may instead inform future agency proposals and enforcement policy.
Regulators have already changed their crypto approach
Garlinghouse’s optimism partly reflects a joint interpretation issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and CFTC in March.
The SEC established five categories covering digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. It also addressed airdrops, mining, staking, token wrapping and circumstances in which a non-security token may form part of an investment contract.
The interpretation became effective March 23. However, it is agency guidance rather than an act of Congress. Courts are not required to follow it, and future regulators could revise or withdraw it.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins described the interpretation as a beginning rather than the end of the agencies’ work. That distinction limits Garlinghouse’s “closer than ever” claim: regulators have provided more detailed guidance, but only Congress can create a durable statutory division between SEC and CFTC authority.
CLARITY Act faces a 60-vote Senate test
The main legislative test is scheduled for Sept. 15, when the Senate is expected to consider cloture on the motion to proceed with the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.
The procedural vote would require 60 senators. It would allow the chamber to begin considering the legislation, not approve its final passage. Even after clearing cloture, the bill would face debate, amendments and further votes.
As crypto.news reported, the legislation faces a Sept. 15 procedural test after lawmakers failed to complete action before their August recess.
Outstanding disputes involve stablecoin rewards, decentralized-finance protections, ethics provisions, illicit-finance controls and consumer safeguards. These issues make the legislation’s passage uncertain despite support from Ripple and other industry companies.
Ripple’s court victory did not erase its penalty
Garlinghouse also referred to Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC and the 2023 ruling that XRP itself was not necessarily a security. The ruling distinguished the token from the circumstances surrounding particular sales.
Ripple’s litigation nevertheless ended with a $125.04 million civil penalty and an injunction covering future violations of securities registration requirements. The SEC and Ripple dismissed their cross-appeals in 2025, leaving that final judgment in effect, according to the SEC.
Garlinghouse’s statement that the court delivered “clarity for XRP” therefore requires context. The ruling addressed the transactions before the court. It did not enact a nationwide statutory framework governing every future XRP sale.
Attention now turns to the Sept. 15 cloture vote. Failure to secure 60 votes would leave the SEC and CFTC guidance as the main federal framework while lawmakers decide whether to resume negotiations after the midterm elections.
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