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XRP Falls 5.5% Weekly as Senate Delays Clarity Act Vote

XRP Drops 5.5% Weekly as Senate Delays Clarity Act Vote to September

XRP market intelligence visualization for: XRP leads majors losses as Clarity Act vote slips to September. CoinBatmi editorial illustration.
CoinBatmi feature visual — market neutral — XRP leads majors losses as Clarity Act vote slips to September

XRP traded at $1.024 Friday afternoon, down 2.2% in the past 24 hours and 4.6% over the week, extending a slide that began when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confirmed the Clarity Act would not reach the floor before the August recess.

The token's weekly loss of 5.5% outpaced declines in Bitcoin and ether, which each slipped less than 1% over the same period. Total crypto market capitalization contracted 0.6% to $2.28 trillion, with 24-hour volume holding at $49.4 billion, according to CoinGecko data.

What the vote decides

The Clarity Act, formally the Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act, would assign the Commodity Futures Trading Commission primary oversight of spot markets for digital commodities while preserving Securities and Exchange Commission authority over investment contracts. For Ripple, which has argued XRP functions as a currency rather than a security, the bill's passage would codify a regulatory framework that aligns with its legal position.

The legislation passed the House Financial Services Committee in July with bipartisan support but stalled in the Senate Banking Committee, where Chairman Sherrod Brown has signaled preference for a more comprehensive approach that includes stablecoin provisions.

Without legislative clarity, XRP remains tethered to the ongoing Ripple-SEC litigation, where a district court ruling last year found programmatic sales of XRP did not constitute investment contracts but left institutional sales in a gray zone. The SEC has appealed that partial victory, and the Second Circuit has not yet set an oral argument date.

Market observers noted that XRP's correlation with broader risk assets has weakened since the April ruling, with the token increasingly trading on regulatory headline risk rather than macro liquidity flows.

AssetPrice24h Change7d ChangeMarket Cap
---------------
XRP$1.024-2.20%-4.60%$64.1B
Bitcoin$64,000-0.80%-0.50%$1.29T
Ethereum$3,100-0.90%-0.70%$372B
Solana$145-1.10%-2.30%$67.8B

| BNB | $580 | -0.60% | -1.20% | $85.4B |

Token and user impact

The delay leaves exchanges and custodians operating under the same fragmented guidance that has persisted since the SEC's 2020 enforcement action. Coinbase and Kraken continue to list XRP, while Robinhood and several international platforms delisted or restricted the token during the litigation's early phases.

On-chain data shows XRP's circulating supply at 62.5 billion against a total supply of 99.9 billion, meaning roughly 37.5 billion tokens remain in escrow or otherwise unissued. Ripple's scheduled monthly releases of up to 1 billion XRP from escrow continue regardless of legislative outcomes, adding steady supply pressure that some analysts argue weighs on price during periods of regulatory uncertainty.

The Senate returns September 9, though leadership has not committed to a Clarity Act vote during the fall session. Competing priorities include government funding legislation, the National Defense Authorization Act, and potential stablecoin legislation that could absorb market-structure provisions.

If the bill fails to advance by year-end, the next legislative vehicle would likely be the next Congress convening in January 2027 — a timeline that extends regulatory limbo for another 16 months at minimum.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did XRP underperform Bitcoin and ether this week?

XRP's 5.5% weekly decline coincided with the Senate's failure to vote on the Clarity Act before recess, removing a near-term catalyst for regulatory clarity that Ripple has argued would benefit the token.

What happens to the Clarity Act when the Senate returns in September?

No vote has been scheduled. The bill could advance as standalone legislation or be folded into a broader crypto package, but competing legislative priorities may delay action until 2027.

How much XRP remains uncirculated?

Approximately 37.5 billion XRP — about 37% of the 99.9 billion total supply — remains in escrow or otherwise unissued, with Ripple releasing up to 1 billion tokens monthly.