Ripple News: Why does the Legal Director claim that the fate of CLARITY Act is inconsequential to XRP?
Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty stated that XRP has already achieved the regulatory clarity that most projects in the crypto industry are still striving for, and this does not depend on whether Congress ultimately passes CLARITY Act. He said that this certainty comes from two different pathways: the outcome of Ripple's own litigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as the guidelines jointly issued by SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which confirm that XRP and several other digital assets are classified as commodities.
"We already have the lowercase 'c' of clarity, whether there is an uppercase 'C' of clarity or not, that is, this legislation," said Alderoty.
This position was hard-won.
To be honest, Alderoty, this level of clarity is not something that can be easily achieved, and it didn't receive much support from within the industry in the early stages. He said that Ripple made it clear from the beginning that the company's struggle against SEC was not just for itself but also for the entire cryptocurrency industry, but he noted that this statement was not initially accepted by the industry.
“They just don’t believe us,” he said.
"Many people in the industry might only be happy to see Ripple driven out," he said. Nowadays, the sentiment in the industry has changed, and more people are beginning to recognize the role that Ripple plays in shaping the current legal environment.
SEC What has the new guide confirmed?
Alderoty mentioned that the latest 400-page guide on Regulation Crypto Assets proposed by SEC further verifies this point. The guide was released less than 24 hours before the interview. He stated that the document directly quotes comment letters submitted by Ripple, and several legal positions put forward by the company during the litigation are now also present in SEC's official proposal.
Why doesn’t Ripple wait for Congress?
Alderoty believes that regulatory agencies should not wait idly by while Congress discusses legislation that may or may not pass. He stated that the statutory responsibilities of SEC and CFTC are to protect consumers and market integrity, and these responsibilities do not include waiting indefinitely for legislators to take action.
“Their job is not to wait for Congress to change the laws,” he said. “Their job is to carry out their work within the framework of the existing laws.”
He added that if CLARITY Act is ultimately approved, SEC and CFTC will only need to adjust the existing rules to be in line with it, rather than starting from scratch.
What does this mean for the future business of Ripple?
In this context, the core argument of Alderoty is that although what CLARITY Act achieves is still very important for other participants in the crypto industry who are operating in a lack of clear regulations, Ripple and XRP have already crossed that threshold. Regardless of the outcome of the legislation in Washington, the regulatory status that XRP has fought for through years of litigation will not change as a result.
