XRP drops 8% after Senate blocks CLARITY Act, but its regulatory status survives
XRP tumbles as Senate rejects bid to advance crypto market-structure bill
XRP fell more than 8% after the US Senate blocked an effort to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a bill that would have created a federal framework for how crypto markets are regulated.
The 49-50 vote failed to reach the 60 votes needed to end debate and move forward on H.R. 3633. The outcome removed the industry's nearest path to putting a national market-structure law on the books.
CryptoSlate data showed XRP dropping as low as $1.27 before recovering to about $1.29, extending a decline from roughly $1.42 on Sept. 14. The slide came alongside weakness across other major cryptocurrencies and a wave of forced liquidations among traders who had borrowed to bet on higher prices.
What the numbers show
- XRP fell more than 8% after the Senate vote, at one point hitting $1.27.
- The cloture motion failed 49-50, blocking the bill from reaching Senate debate.
- US spot XRP exchange-traded funds — funds that track the token's price and trade on stock markets — had pulled in about $1.71 billion in cumulative net inflows through Sept. 14, with roughly $1.58 billion in net assets.
- That put XRP behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum among single-asset spot crypto ETF categories, and ahead of Solana's roughly $1.37 billion.
What Ripple executives said
Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse said the result “stings,” but argued it does not change the company's commercial trajectory. He pointed to demand from traditional finance and the digital-asset industry, saying the failed vote does not alter Ripple's momentum, global footprint or customer base.
Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said XRP remains on “settled ground” because of action taken in March by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The SEC issued a Commission-level interpretation explaining how federal securities laws apply to several categories of crypto assets, and the CFTC said it would apply the Commodity Exchange Act in line with that framework. XRP was one of 18 assets identified as digital commodities based on their characteristics, terms and functions at the time.
What stayed in place after the vote
That March treatment remains in effect even though the Senate bill stalled, according to the report. Ripple says this gives XRP more legal certainty than much of the crypto market, which still operates without a comprehensive statutory market structure.
The company said it expects XRP's digital-commodity treatment to survive future rulemaking, and that demand remains strong across payments, stablecoins and institutional markets.
Why agency rules are weaker than a law
The March action interprets laws that already exist rather than writing new ones. That leaves the SEC room to refine or revise its approach over time.
The interpretation also keeps transaction-specific analysis under the Howey test — the legal test used to decide whether an asset sale counts as an investment contract. That means a digital commodity that is not itself a security can still be sold as part of an investment contract covered by securities laws.
With Congress stalled, Ripple said it expects SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Mike Selig to take a larger role in shaping crypto rules, and that it will stay engaged with both agencies. But a broader split of authority between the two agencies would still require congressional action.
What is confirmed and what is not
Confirmed: the Senate vote tally, XRP's price moves, the March SEC and CFTC actions, and the cumulative XRP ETF inflow figures through Sept. 14.
Reported but not independently confirmed in the source: Ripple's claims about its commercial momentum, customer demand and the expectation that XRP's digital-commodity treatment will persist through future rulemaking.
Still unclear: whether XRP ETF demand will hold up after the vote, and whether the agencies can turn their March interpretation into a more durable framework. The source does not establish either outcome.
What happens next
Ripple said it plans to keep expanding its global business while pressing for clearer US rules. The industry, meanwhile, is left relying on a mix of court decisions, agency interpretations and future rulemaking while lawmakers decide whether another market-structure proposal can win the votes that CLARITY could not.