Ripple CEO Pushes for Crypto Bill Compromise
Ripple's CEO is urging banks to reach a compromise on an upcoming crypto bill deadline. The push comes as Ripple continues to expand its own ecosystem, having invested over $550 million into more than 200 projects across DeFi, payments, and AI on the XRPL.
The legislative push centers on the Crypto-Asset Market Structure Bill, also known as the CLARITY Act. Lawmakers are facing a White House-imposed internal deadline of March 1 to finalize a draft and break a stalemate in the Senate, with Ripple's CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicting an 80% chance of passage by the end of April. A core objective of the CLARITY Act is to resolve the long-standing jurisdictional ambiguity between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The bill aims to create a clear framework for which digital assets are classified as securities and which are commodities, a move intended to reduce regulatory uncertainty for investors and financial institutions. Negotiations between banking groups and crypto firms, including Ripple and Coinbase, have been brokered by the White House. The primary point of contention is the regulation of stablecoins, specifically whether crypto platforms can offer rewards or yield on stablecoin holdings, which banks argue could unfairly compete with their deposits. This legislative battle is unfolding as U.S. banking regulators like the OCC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC have begun to soften their stance on digital assets. In a significant shift from previous policy, these agencies have relaxed rules, now allowing banks to offer crypto custody and engage in stablecoin services without prior regulatory approval, provided they implement the same risk management standards as for traditional banking activities. Ripple's ecosystem development, funded by over $550 million since 2017, has supported nearly 200 projects globally. The investments have spanned decentralized finance (DeFi), payments, tokenization, and AI applications built on the XRP Ledger. Looking ahead, Ripple is decentralizing its ecosystem funding model for 2026 to avoid being the sole gatekeeper of support. The new strategy includes the FinTech Builder Program for institutional-grade financial applications and the XAO DAO, a decentralized organization allowing the community to vote on resource allocation.
