Ripple CLO Says Clarity Act Could Unlock US Crypto Market

Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty says the Clarity Act could give US crypto users and investors the rules they have waited years to see.

Good to Know

• The Senate Banking Committee advanced the Clarity Act by a 15-9 vote on May 14.
• The bill would divide digital asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC.
• XRP would be treated as a digital commodity under the proposal.

XRP Could Gain From Clearer Crypto Rules

The Clarity Act now heads closer to a full Senate vote after clearing the Senate Banking Committee with bipartisan support. Every Republican on the panel backed it, along with two Democrats, despite opposition from Elizabeth Warren.

Alderoty framed the bill as consumer protection, not industry protection.

“The Clarity Act isn’t about protecting an industry. It’s about protecting everyday Americans who deserve clear rules when they participate in the multi-trillion dollar crypto economy. 67 million Americans already hold crypto. The data is in. It’s time,” Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty said in a post.

The bill would answer one of the biggest questions in US crypto regulation: when does the SEC oversee a digital asset, and when does the CFTC take charge? That question has shaped enforcement since 2017 and left many token projects, exchanges and investors working around unclear rules.

For Ripple and XRP, the stakes are especially high. The Clarity Act would classify named tokens, including XRP, as digital commodities. That change would cut legal uncertainty around XRP and could make the asset easier for larger investors to access.

Standard Chartered analysts estimate the bill could bring $4 billion to $8 billion in extra XRP ETF inflows alone. That figure explains why Ripple-linked names have watched the legislation closely.

The vote also gives the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act a rare place in Washington crypto policy. It became the first broad crypto market structure bill to clear the Senate Banking Committee with support from both parties.

Still, passage remains difficult. The bill needs 60 Senate floor votes to beat a filibuster. Lawmakers would also need to reconcile versions from the Banking and Agriculture committees before aligning the text with the House version passed in July 2025.