Ripple CEO: 90% chance Congress passes Clarity Act by April

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse now puts the odds at 90% that the Clarity Act will pass by the end of April, following meetings in Washington and a White House March 1 target to speed negotiations.

He described recent discussions in the capital that brought together leaders from digital asset firms and large banks, pointing to wider interest in resolving policy disputes that have lingered for months.

The Clarity Act would define which digital assets are securities and which would be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Sticking points include whether platforms can offer yield-like features and how to treat stablecoin rewards.

Garlinghouse called the bill imperfect but necessary. “The industry can’t live in limbo,” he noted. Ripple obtained a federal court ruling that XRP is not a security, giving the company more certainty than many peers, yet he maintains sector-wide rules are still required.

The remarks come during a period of price swings across digital assets. Despite the volatility, Ripple reports growing interest from corporate treasurers and financial institutions in stablecoins, liquidity tools, and cross-border payments.

Since 2023, Ripple has spent nearly $3 billion on acquisitions to expand into custody, prime brokerage, and treasury management. The company plans to pause major purchases in the near term to integrate recent deals.

Banks and other established financial firms are increasingly asking for clear guidance so they can compete on comparable terms with crypto-native companies, according to Garlinghouse. He linked that shift to changes in attitudes toward digital assets since earlier regulatory debates.

The timeline he outlined would place passage by late April. On Polymarket, contracts imply a near 80% chance at the time of writing that the bill becomes law by the end of the year.

As we reported earlier, Senator Bernie Moreno said the crypto-focused CLARITY Act could pass Congress by April, following talks that included Coinbase and the banking sector. He spoke at the World Liberty Financial event, where Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was present. Moreno added that previously unresolved issues, led by how to handle yield-bearing stablecoins, have started to be resolved.