Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's (XRP) CEO, said he now sees a 90% chance that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act will pass by the end of April 2026, citing fresh momentum from White House-led negotiations.
The bill would establish which digital assets fall under SEC oversight and which come under CFTC jurisdiction - the central unresolved question in U.S. cryptocurrency regulation.
Speaking on Fox Business, Garlinghouse described recent meetings in Washington attended by both cryptocurrency executives and traditional banking representatives as evidence that the political environment has shifted.
What Happened
The CLARITY Act - formally H.R. 3633 - passed the House in 2025 with bipartisan support, 294–134, but stalled in the Senate Banking Committee.
Negotiations have recently accelerated, with the White House setting a March 1 deadline to resolve disputes over stablecoin yield provisions - specifically, whether crypto platforms can offer yield-style rewards on reserve-backed holdings.
Garlinghouse acknowledged those stablecoin provisions remain the central sticking point, and said compromise may be necessary.
He raised his probability estimate from 80% to 90% following Senator Bernie Moreno's public support for the legislation.
Read also: 'Cypherpunk Principled, Non-Ugly Ethereum': What Buterin's Bolt-On Plan Actually Means
Why It Matters
Garlinghouse's 90% estimate is more bullish than broader market consensus. Polymarket currently prices passage of crypto market structure legislation at roughly 78% by year end - not by April.
The bill's core mechanism introduces a "secondary market rule" that would allow tokens initially classified as securities to transition to commodity status once their underlying blockchain achieves sufficient decentralization.
That provision is particularly relevant to assets like XRP, which secured a federal court ruling that it is not a security but still lacks a statutory framework.
Ripple has deployed close to $3 billion in acquisitions since 2023 across custody, prime brokerage, and treasury management.
Garlinghouse said the company will pause major deals near-term to focus on integration - a posture that suggests Ripple is treating legislative passage, not further expansion, as the next key variable.
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