Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has said the next two weeks could determine whether broad U.S. crypto legislation has a realistic path to becoming law before the political calendar becomes harder to manage. Speaking at Consensus Miami, Garlinghouse said the Senate Banking Committee needs to move forward with a markup soon. He warned that if the committee does not act in the coming weeks, the chances of passing a market structure bill could fall sharply. The legislation, commonly tied to the CLARITY Act framework, aims to create federal rules for digital assets and divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. US Senate Timeline Becomes Critical The House passed its version of the crypto market structure bill last year, but the Senate process has moved more slowly. A bill must advance through both the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Banking Committee before reaching the full Senate. The Agriculture Committee has already moved its version forward. The Banking Committee has faced delays, including disagreements over stablecoin rewards, conflicts of interest, and illicit finance rules. A recent compromise between Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis on stablecoin rewards could clear one major obstacle. However, Garlinghouse said time remains the main challenge as the November midterm elections approach. He said if the process slips into the campaign season, crypto legislation could become too politically difficult to complete. Ripple Pushes Growth Without IPO Plans Garlinghouse also confirmed that Ripple has no immediate plans for an initial public offering. He said the company is well-funded and does not need public capital to continue expanding. Ripple President Monica Long has also said an IPO is not a current priority. The company is instead focusing on product growth, acquisitions, stablecoin infrastructure, and institutional financial services. Ripple’s treasury infrastructure reportedly processed about $13 trillion in payments over the past year. Garlinghouse said those flows were not initially crypto or stablecoin-based, pointing to a large opportunity to move traditional payment activity onto blockchain rails over time. Ripple has also expanded through acquisitions, including its $1.25 billion purchase of Hidden Road, now known as Ripple Prime. The company has also launched RLUSD, its regulated dollar-backed stablecoin. Regulatory Certainty Remains the Main Issue Even for IPO Garlinghouse said Ripple would only seriously consider an IPO after stronger regulatory certainty in the United States. The company has spent years in litigation with the SEC over XRP. A federal judge previously ruled that XRP itself is not inherently a security, although some direct institutional sales by Ripple were treated as securities transactions. Garlinghouse said that ruling gave clarity to XRP, but the wider industry still needs federal legislation. Regulators have issued guidance and token taxonomies under current leadership, but Garlinghouse said agency policy can change under future administrations. He said codifying crypto rules into law would make the framework more durable. The debate arrives as U.S. crypto firms seek clear rules for exchanges , stablecoins, custody, token issuance, and institutional trading. Garlinghouse said the CLARITY Act remains important because it could define how digital assets are treated beyond XRP. Ripple’s position is that the industry has gained momentum, but the window for passing legislation is narrowing. The next Senate Banking Committee action will show whether the bill can advance before election politics take over.
