XRP Defends $1 by a Cent Since CLARITY Act Slipped. Now CFTC Steps In

XRP traded at $1.009 on Thursday. It has been pinned to that dollar line since the Senate skipped its CLARITY Act vote and left for recess.

That bill would write XRP’s legal status into federal law. Its next window opens when senators return in September. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has signaled it will not wait.

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XRP Peaked the Day the House Passed the Bill

One date frames the whole story. XRP set its record high of $3.65 on July 17, 2025. The House passed the CLARITY Act that same day. The vote was 294 to 134, with every Republican in the chamber voting yes.

The XRP price now sits about 72% below that peak. It is down 2.9% over the past week and 8.7% over the past month.

The bill has crawled since. Senate Banking advanced it 15-9 in May. It still needs 60 votes on the floor, and senators went home in August without holding that vote.

Buyers have noticed. XRP ranks sixth by market value at $63.2 billion, yet spot ETF demand has stalled while larger tokens gained.

Why XRP Needs a Law, Not a Ruling

XRP’s legal footing comes from a courtroom, not Congress. Judge Analisa Torres ruled in July 2023 that XRP sold anonymously on exchanges was not an investment contract.

She also found Ripple’s direct sales to institutions broke registration rules. Ripple ended up paying a $125 million penalty.

Regulators went further this year. On March 17, the SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretation sorting crypto into five categories, including digital commodities.

That document named no individual token. It also pointed straight back at Congress.

“complements Congressional efforts to codify a comprehensive crypto market structure framework into statute,” SEC and CFTC joint interpretation, March 17, 2026.

A ruling can be narrowed. An interpretation can be rewritten by the next commission. A statute is far harder to undo. That gap is what keeps cautious money away from XRP.

Ripple Already Has a Seat at the CFTC Table

The CFTC meets on August 20 in Washington. Its opening session starts at 1:30 p.m. ET under the title “Crypto’s Regulatory Evolution: From Uncertainty to Clarity.”

.@ChairmanSelig Announces Agenda for August 20 Innovation Advisory Committee Meeting in Washington: https://t.co/JdOLTxPXEj

— CFTC (@CFTC) August 13, 2026

The agenda asks a narrow question. What can the agency fix using powers it already holds?

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse sits on that committee. So do the chief executives of Coinbase, Nasdaq, and CME Group.

The SEC is moving in parallel. Commissioners vote Friday on proposed crypto offering rules for token fundraising.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Eleanor Terrett, host of the Crypto America podcast, reported Thursday that a separate tokenization exemption has slipped again. Negotiators are still arguing over that part of the bill.

🚨Scooplet: The @SECGov’s tokenization innovation exemption has been “further delayed,” with details expected to remain under wraps for the time being, per a source familiar with the matter.Part of the reason, I’m told, could be that the tokenization section of the Clarity Act…

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) August 13, 2026

Not everyone reads the delay as damage. Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo argues that innovation continues without legislation.

For XRP, the sum is simple. Agency rules can steady the market. Only a law can give institutions the certainty they have waited for since July 2025. Public comments on the CFTC meeting close on August 27.