XRP outperforms BTC amid Clarity Act progress, though a lasting bull run still needs Congress to act

XRP moved higher after U.S. lawmakers advanced a key crypto market-structure bill, boosting expectations that clearer regulation could attract fresh institutional capital.

The token rose 5% after the Senate Banking Committee approved the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in a 15–9 vote on Thursday, pushing the legislation closer to a full Senate vote and reviving optimism around regulatory progress.

XRP climbed above $1.50 following the development, gaining 5% over 24 hours and 7.6% on the week. The performance outpaced bitcoin and ether, both of which posted weekly gains of less than 3%.

The strong reaction highlights XRP’s sensitivity to regulatory developments. Since the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple in 2020, the token has faced prolonged uncertainty, including exchange delistings and reduced institutional participation. A 2023 court ruling clarified that secondary-market XRP trading is not considered securities activity, but investors have continued to look for a more durable legislative framework.

The CLARITY Act is designed to provide that clarity by establishing rules for custody, trading, market making, and ETF participation—key pillars for institutional adoption.

However, the bill still faces several hurdles. It must be reconciled with a separate Senate Agriculture Committee version, pass both chambers of Congress, and be signed into law. While Senator Cynthia Lummis has pointed to broad agreement on much of the bill, opposition from Senator Elizabeth Warren suggests further debate ahead. The Memorial Day recess adds urgency to the timeline.

Beyond the regulatory narrative, XRP is also benefiting from growing activity across its ecosystem.

The XRP Ledger has seen rising adoption in tokenization, with more than $3 billion in real-world assets now issued on the network, positioning it as a leading alternative to Ethereum for institutional use cases.

Recent pilots highlight its potential. A collaboration between Ripple, JPMorgan, Mastercard, and Ondo Finance processed a tokenized U.S. Treasury transaction in under five seconds, demonstrating the network’s ability to integrate with traditional financial systems.

At the same time, DeFi activity tied to XRP has expanded, with total value locked surpassing $560 million across platforms such as Flare and Doppler Finance.

Institutional interest is also visible in fund flows. U.S.-listed spot XRP ETFs recorded $25.8 million in net inflows earlier this week—their strongest daily total since January—bringing cumulative inflows to $1.35 billion. The momentum follows Ripple’s $200 million debt raise for its Prime brokerage unit and continued advances in tokenization initiatives.

Despite the recent gains, XRP remains below its 2025 highs, with the $1.50 level acting as a key resistance point.

While the committee vote has provided a near-term catalyst, a sustained rally will likely depend on one key factor: full regulatory clarity from Congress