$XRP positioning holds as CLARITY Act stalls in Senate
The CLARITY Act failed to advance in the Senate on Tuesday. $XRP shares tumbled below key support levels in the 24 hours that followed, but institutional demand held. U.S. spot XRP ETFs recorded zero outflows on…
Key takeaways
- The CLARITY Act failed to advance in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, closing the legislative route to crypto regulation for now.
- U.S. spot XRP ETFs recorded zero outflows on September 15, while Bitcoin ETFs saw $450.3 million and Ethereum ETFs saw $141.5 million in net outflows that session.
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the outcome 'stings,' blaming 'the politics of the democrats,' and said focus now shifts to SEC and CFTC agency rulemaking.
- A March SEC-CFTC joint interpretation classifies XRP as a digital commodity, which Ripple cites as leaving it on 'settled ground.'
- Democratic opposition centered on ethics provisions seen as insufficient regarding President Donald Trump's crypto holdings, and several Republicans also voted against advancing the bill.
The CLARITY Act failed to advance in the Senate on Tuesday. $XRP shares tumbled below key support levels in the 24 hours that followed, but institutional demand held. U.S. spot XRP ETFs recorded zero outflows on September 15, compared with $450.3 million in net outflows from Bitcoin ETFs and $141.5 million from Ethereum ETFs on the same session.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the legislative outcome "stings," attributing the failure to what he called "the politics of the democrats" and calling for a post-mortem on why negotiations fell apart. Ripple and the broader crypto industry had invested significant effort to push the bill across the finish line, he noted. In his framing, consumers and U.S. competitiveness were left behind. Democratic opposition centered on concerns that the bill's ethics provisions did not go far enough to address potential conflicts of interest tied to President Donald Trump's crypto holdings. Several Republicans also voted against advancing the measure.
What comes next for crypto regulation
With the legislative route closed for now, Garlinghouse said the focus shifts to agency rulemaking. He expects the SEC, under Chair Paul Atkins, and the CFTC, under Chair Michael Selig, to press ahead with rules to fill the gaps Congress left open. The two agencies have already been moving toward greater coordination, issuing joint guidance in March on how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets. Ripple plans to remain actively involved in that process, Garlinghouse said, and despite the setback he said there is still "reason for optimism for crypto in the United States."
Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty was direct on XRP's existing position. "Ripple and XRP stand on settled ground," he said, pointing to the SEC-CFTC interpretation issued in March. That guidance explicitly lists XRP among crypto assets classified as digital commodities under the framework. Garlinghouse added that the failed Senate vote does not change Ripple's business momentum.
The setup from here is whether the SEC and CFTC rulemaking calendar accelerates now that Congress has stepped back. The March joint guidance placing XRP in the digital commodities category is the baseline; any revision to that classification is the filing to watch.