Brad Garlinghouse is warning that time is running out for the CLARITY Act.
He said the next two weeks are critical. If the Senate doesn’t act quickly, the bill could lose momentum and get stuck in politics ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Speaking at the Consensus crypto conference, Garlinghouse made it clear: if lawmakers delay, the chances of the bill passing could “drop sharply.” Once election campaigning heats up, crypto regulation could become a more controversial topic, making progress harder.
This is a shift from what he said earlier. Back in April, he sounded more confident and expected the bill to move much faster. Now, the tone is more cautious.
One big hurdle has just been cleared, though. Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reached a compromise on stablecoins.
The deal limits interest-like returns that look like bank deposits but still allows rewards tied to payments and platform activity. This issue had been slowing the bill down for months.
Even with that progress, there are still many steps left. The bill needs approval from another Senate committee, then a full Senate vote, and finally alignment with the version already passed in the House.
Some experts say there’s still uncertainty, especially around how the rules will actually be applied after the law passes. That’s making big investors a bit cautious.
Garlinghouse admits the bill isn’t perfect. But in his view, having clear rules — even if they’re not ideal — is better than the current situation, where companies are operating without clear guidance.
In short, the window is small:
act now, or risk the whole effort getting delayed by politics. Ripple
