Clarity Act May Grant XRP Equal Legal Status With Bitcoin and Ethereum

Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett has pointed out a key provision in the draft of the U.S. Digital Asset Market Clarity Act that could place XRP in the same category as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

She explained in a post on X that lawmakers plan to treat certain digital assets as non-securities if they are already backed by an exchange-traded product (ETP) as of January 1, 2026.

Notably, the bill introduces a new label called “network tokens”. If a token is the main asset behind an ETP listed on a U.S. exchange by that date, it would not be considered a security and would therefore avoid additional disclosure requirements.

Under this proposal, Terrett said XRP would be legally treated the same as Bitcoin and Ethereum once the Clarity Act becomes law.

• The bill introduces “network tokens” as a distinct, non-security category.
• Crypto assets backing nationally listed ETPs as of January 1, 2026, will automatically qualify for inclusion in this category.
• XRP meets this requirement due to its existing ETF products, which gained approval last year.
• The provision would allow U.S. regulators to treat XRP the same way as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Notably, the provision reflects a market-driven regulatory approach. Rather than forcing regulators to assess decentralization levels or issuer control on a case-by-case basis, the bill relies on established financial infrastructure, specifically nationally listed ETPs, to determine which tokens qualify as non-securities.

This approach is especially significant for XRP. The token already underpins multiple ETPs that are listed and actively trading in the U.S., all of which secured approval well ahead of the January 1, 2026, deadline. Given XRP’s lengthy history of regulatory scrutiny, this development represents a meaningful shift in how U.S. law could ultimately treat the asset.

According to Eleanor Terrett, The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would treat $XRP same as BTC and ETH. pic.twitter.com/5smWAyYo5S

— TheCryptoBasic (@thecryptobasic) January 13, 2026

XRP’s inclusion in the network-token category would mark a major milestone in its regulatory evolution. The token launched in 2012, during a period of minimal regulatory guidance, and operated alongside Bitcoin and other early cryptocurrencies.

However, in 2020, XRP became a central figure in U.S. crypto regulation after the SEC alleged it was an unregistered security in its lawsuit against Ripple. That pressure eased in July 2023, when a federal court ruled that XRP is not inherently a security.

Now, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would cement XRP’s non-security status in law, grounding it in market-structure legislation beyond courtroom rulings. Ultimately, the bill would place XRP on equal legal footing with Bitcoin and Ethereum, which regulators consider to be commodities.

Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee has postponed its planned markup of crypto market structure legislation, thereby avoiding what was shaping up to be a rare case of dueling markups in Congress.

According to a statement shared by Terrett, Committee Chairman John Boozman confirmed that the panel will now consider the legislation in the last week of January, rather than moving forward this Thursday alongside the Senate Banking Committee. He added that the delay is necessary to allow additional time to preserve bipartisan support for the bill.