Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the U.S. is “closer than ever” to clear crypto rules after a week of high-level regulatory meetings in Washington — but major caveats remain. What happened - Garlinghouse made the comment on Aug. 22 after attending the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s inaugural Innovation Advisory Committee meeting on Aug. 20. He called the gathering “the Olympic roster of crypto,” noting widespread agreement that legacy financial rules don’t fit digital assets: “Rules written for a different era aren’t good enough. Not for consumers. Not for business. Not for innovation.” - The meeting included heavyweight industry and TradFi figures: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Uniswap Labs CEO Hayden Adams, CME Group CEO Terry Duffy, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, and Cboe Global Markets CEO Craig Donohue, among others. Garlinghouse was appointed to the CFTC committee in February. Why caution is needed - Garlinghouse’s optimism reflects his view of progress, not a change in law. The CFTC advisory committee can only offer recommendations to the agency — it cannot pass legislation or independently issue regulations. - In March, the SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretation that categorized digital assets (digital commodities, collectibles, tools, stablecoins and digital securities) and addressed activities such as airdrops, mining, staking and token wrapping. That guidance, effective March 23, provides more detail for regulators and market participants but is agency guidance, not congressional statute. Courts are not bound by it, and future regulators could revise or withdraw it. - Even SEC Chairman Paul Atkins called the interpretation a “beginning,” underscoring that only Congress can create a durable statutory split of SEC and CFTC authority. The legislative test ahead - The main near-term test is a Sept. 15 procedural vote in the Senate on the motion to proceed with the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. That cloture vote would require 60 senators to advance debate — it would not immediately enact the bill, which would still face amendments and further votes. - Lawmakers left unresolved several hot-button issues before the August recess: stablecoin rewards, DeFi protections, ethics rules, illicit-finance controls and consumer safeguards. Those disagreements make passage uncertain despite industry support from firms like Ripple. Ripple’s legal context - Garlinghouse also pointed to Ripple’s long-running litigation with the SEC. A 2023 ruling found that XRP itself was not necessarily a security in all contexts, though the decision focused on the transactions before the court. - Ripple’s litigation ultimately ended with a $125.04 million civil penalty and an injunction against future securities-registration violations. The SEC and Ripple dismissed cross-appeals in 2025, leaving that judgment in effect. The court ruling provided transaction-specific clarity for XRP but did not create a nationwide statutory framework for every future XRP sale. Bottom line - Garlinghouse’s comments reflect growing momentum and clearer agency guidance, but the most durable changes still hinge on Congress. If the Sept. 15 cloture vote fails to reach 60 senators, the SEC/CFTC joint interpretation will remain the primary federal guidance while lawmakers decide whether to renew negotiations after the midterms. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news