Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse issued a stark warning Tuesday at Consensus 2026 in Miami Beach, saying the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act faces a narrow two-week window to survive in the Senate. The supporting evidence appears in coalition of banking groups said this week.
Speaking from the main stage, Garlinghouse said the bill is not a “done deal” and that failure to schedule a Senate Banking Committee hearing in the coming days would sharply reduce its odds of becoming law.
“If it doesn’t happen then, I think the likelihood is going to drop precipitously,” Garlinghouse said, while still expressing measured confidence that the hearing would eventually be scheduled.
The next formal step requires the Senate Banking Committee to convene a markup session, which would formally advance the bill to a floor vote.
Stablecoin Yield Compromise at the Center of Negotiations
The legislation has been stalled in part over a contentious sticking point involving stablecoin yield. Senators involved in negotiations revealed last week a new compromise position designed to break the deadlock.
Under the proposed language, crypto firms would be permitted to offer certain rewards programs tied to stablecoins, but they would be barred from issuing yield-bearing stablecoin accounts that functionally resemble interest-bearing bank deposits used to fund U.S. lending activity.
Garlinghouse acknowledged the bill is far from ideal in its current form. “Do I think it’s perfect?
Hell, no,” he said. “There’s tradeoffs and compromises, but I do think clarity is better than chaos.” His remarks underscored the broader industry sentiment that imperfect legislation still outweighs prolonged regulatory uncertainty for digital asset businesses operating in the United States.
Crypto industry participants have broadly accepted the stablecoin compromise, but a coalition of banking trade groups pushed back sharply this week. In a joint statement, major banking associations said the proposed yield language “falls short” of what they consider adequate consumer protection. The banking lobby’s resistance has contributed to delays in scheduling the committee hearing, according to Garlinghouse, who described bank lobbyists as dragging their feet on the process.
Why Permanent Legislation Matters Beyond the Current SEC Leadership
Beyond the immediate legislative timeline, Garlinghouse made a pointed argument for why codifying crypto policy into law carries far greater long-term value than relying on the current regulatory direction set by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who replaced the crypto-skeptical Gary Gensler, has shifted the agency toward a more accommodating posture on digital assets since taking office.
But Garlinghouse warned that policy built on administrative priorities is inherently fragile. Without a statutory foundation, a future SEC chair could reverse course entirely.
“There will be another Paul Atkins after Paul who we don’t know which side of this argument they’re going to fall on,” he said. “Hopefully, the trend line has moved far enough we don’t go back, no matter what, but codified into law means you kind of can’t go back.”
That argument has been a consistent throughline in the crypto industry’s push for comprehensive market structure legislation throughout 2025 and into 2026.
Industry executives have grown wary of building long-term business strategies around regulatory positions that can be unwound with a change of administration or a new agency appointment. Garlinghouse’s remarks put that concern in sharp relief at one of the industry’s largest annual gatherings.
Also at Consensus, Garlinghouse offered a forward-looking projection on the stablecoin market. He predicted the total stablecoin market capitalization will reach $3 trillion by 2031, a figure that represents roughly a tenfold increase from current levels.
The stablecoin market currently sits at approximately $320 billion, with Tether’s USDT holding the dominant share. Ripple entered the stablecoin space in 2024 with the launch of its own dollar-pegged token, RLUSD, which is trading near its $1.00 peg.
The projection reflects broader industry expectations that stablecoins will expand aggressively as regulatory frameworks become clearer, enabling mainstream financial institutions and payment processors to adopt them at scale.
Whether or not the Clarity Act clears the Senate in the coming weeks, the stablecoin debate it has exposed will remain central to how the U.S. positions itself in the global digital asset economy.
For now, the clock is ticking. Garlinghouse made clear that the next two weeks represent the bill’s most consequential window, and that the Senate Banking Committee’s scheduling decision will serve as the clearest signal yet of whether Washington is prepared to deliver a lasting legal framework for crypto markets.
Not Financial Advice: This article is for informational purposes only. Crypto investments are highly volatile. Always do your own research.
