Key facts
- Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen is urging swift passage of the Clarity Act.
- Larsen stated the bill is crucial for determining if crypto assets are treated as securities or commodities.
- He criticized Gary Gensler and Elizabeth Warren for their stance on the crypto industry.
- The Clarity Act aims to provide market structure for the crypto industry.
- The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote on the bill on September 15.
- Updated Clarity Act text was released by Senate Republicans without changes to ethics, BRCA, and stablecoin yield sections.
Chris Larsen, executive chairman of Ripple and a significant Democratic donor, has publicly voiced strong support for the Clarity Act, a proposed piece of legislation aimed at structuring the cryptocurrency market. Larsen emphasized the bill's importance in resolving the fundamental question of whether digital assets should be classified as securities or commodities, a distinction that remains a major point of contention and uncertainty for the industry.
Larsen criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Senator Elizabeth Warren for what he perceives as attacks on the crypto industry. He noted that while Ripple has achieved some clarity through a court decision, many other market participants lack such certainty. He contrasted the current situation with the Trump administration's support for the industry and the passage of the GENIUS Act, which regulates stablecoins, but stressed the greater need for the Clarity Act.
The crypto industry is actively lobbying for the bill's passage, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty also urging Congress to act. The Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on the Clarity Act on September 15. While Senate Republicans have released updated text of the bill, incorporating over 100 changes requested by Democrats, it has not yet achieved bipartisan consensus. Key areas of contention include ethics provisions, the treatment of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and stablecoin rewards.
Separately, Larsen has invested in American Perpetuals Exchange Corp, a derivatives startup founded by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who has been involved in efforts to compromise on the Clarity Act's ethics provisions. The article also touches on Larsen's past funding of San Francisco police surveillance tools and his views on the AI arms race.