Ripple CEO Supports Clarity Act Despite Imperfections Amid Senate Delay

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has reaffirmed his support for the Clarity Act, urging lawmakers and the crypto industry to keep pushing the bill forward.

Garlinghouse’s recent comments came on the back of a surprise delay, which halted the progress of the bill in the Senate following Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s decision to withdraw support.

The Ripple CEO argued that clear legislation, even if imperfect, would benefit the industry more than the ongoing uncertainty. He called on industry leaders to work with lawmakers, present improvements, and resist the temptation to abandon the effort.

• The Senate delayed a markup on the Clarity Act after Republicans released last-minute revisions that led to pushbacks.
• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support, pointing out multiple imperfections with the bill.
• Ripple CEO acknowledged these imperfections but insisted that a flawed bill is better than the current uncertainty in the market.
• Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson expressed doubt that the bill will pass soon and criticized U.S. policy for favoring banks over innovators.

Notably, Garlinghouse expressed his support for the bill in a recent commentary. The Ripple CEO acknowledged that the bill still needs work but insisted that clear rules beat confusion and uncertainty. “Clarity is better than chaos, and the industry needs clarity,” he remarked.

According to him, the crypto industry works better when everyone understands the rules, even if the first version of those rules falls short of perfection. Garlinghouse pointed out that regulatory uncertainty is damaging, arguing that companies need something firm to build around.

He noted that the industry should stay in the conversation, suggest improvements, and work with lawmakers rather than walk away in frustration.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 seeks to create a formal rulebook for digital assets in the United States. The bill outlines which areas fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission and which ones belong to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

It also sets out new standards for emerging areas such as stablecoins, decentralized finance platforms, and tokenized real-world assets. Lawmakers spent most of 2025 negotiating the framework and built enough support to move it through the House before turning their attention to the Senate.

However, the bill hit turbulence this week when Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott postponed a markup set for January 15. Republicans released updated language shortly before the meeting, and the changes raised concerns in the crypto sector.

The Coinbase CEO escalated the situation when he announced on social media that Coinbase could no longer support the latest version. His decision split the industry’s public stance.

Armstrong argued that the new text risked doing more harm than good. He claimed the draft could cut off tokenized stock markets, expose DeFi users by widening government access to data, steer oversight heavily toward the SEC, and shrink stablecoin benefits in ways that could crush competition.

There have been mixed reactions from other industry leaders. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenevpointed out the dangers of regulatory uncertainty, such as the company’s inability to offer staking in several states or bring tokenized equities to U.S. customers even though they exist in Europe.He urged lawmakers to step up and promised help from his company to finish the process.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson expressed doubt that the bill would pass before the first quarter ends, criticizing U.S. regulators for favoring big banks over innovators. He even suggested that Trump’s Crypto Czar, David Sacks, step down if progress fails to materialize.

Despite the flare-ups, several major companies still believe the Clarity Act remains worth pursuing. Firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Circle, Paradigm, and Kraken continue backing the effort.