Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said U.S. cryptocurrency regulation is approaching a decisive moment and that the United States is closer than ever to clear rules after recent meetings at the White House and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He attended the inaugural meeting of the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee on Aug. 20, where crypto and traditional-finance executives discussed how rules written for an earlier era fit digital assets and emerging technologies. In March, the SEC and CFTC issued guidance establishing five token categories and addressing staking, mining, airdrops and token wrapping, but that interpretation is not binding federal legislation. The Senate’s Digital Asset Market Clarity Act faces a Sept. 15 cloture vote requiring 60 senators to advance toward floor consideration, with unresolved disputes over stablecoin rewards, decentralized finance, ethics, illicit finance and consumer safeguards. Garlinghouse’s optimism also sits against Ripple’s SEC litigation: cross-appeals were dismissed in 2025, leaving a $125.04 million civil penalty and an injunction in force, while the court ruling addressed specific transactions rather than creating a nationwide statutory framework for future XRP sales.