Daily News 19

Tag: Stuart Alderoty

  • Ripple Legal Chief Offers Bullish XRP Outlook After CLARITY Act Failure

    Ripple Legal Chief Offers Bullish XRP Outlook After CLARITY Act Failure

    The U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on September 15, with a 49–50 procedural vote falling short of the 60-vote threshold required to move the legislation to formal floor debate. The outcome stalls a bill that previously passed the House of Representatives in July 2025 by a 294–134 margin.

    Senate Deadlock Halts Legislative Momentum

    The procedural vote concluded with 49 senators voting in favor and 50 against, preventing the measure from proceeding along its immediate regulatory path. Senate negotiations had stalled over objections surrounding public ethics standards and the regulatory oversight of decentralized protocols, despite the strong bipartisan showing in the lower chamber.

    Ripple Leadership Affirms Legal Standing

    Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty emphasized that the company and its digital asset operate on established legal ground following the legislative impasse. In a post on his X account, Alderoty stated:

    Don’t forget – Ripple and $XRP stand on settled ground. The 2023 federal Court ruling established $XRP is not a security.
    And in March the SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretation naming $XRP a digital commodity. SEC Chairman Atkins and a CFTC Chairman Selig understand these… https://t.co/63ML5xmbAP

    Alderoty referenced the 2023 federal court ruling that established programmatic sales of $XRP on exchanges do not constitute securities, effectively decoupling those transactions from classification as investment contracts.

    Market Reaction and Technical Indicators

    Over the past 24 hours, $XRP declined 7.95% to $1.29, according to CoinMarketCap metrics. Technical indicators suggest the breach below the 200-day moving average at $1.355 likely accelerated defensive sell orders following the Senate vote.

    Judicial Precedents and Regulatory Framework

    The company anchors its stance in administrative determinations established prior to the legislative debate. Official March 2026 documentation issued jointly by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) categorized $XRP among sixteen digital assets recognized as digital commodities.

    According to financial sector reports, this interagency interpretation limits the company’s operating exposure to direct disputes regarding the commercial nature of the asset. Industry representatives note that the absence of comprehensive federal legislation shifts the task of defining operating boundaries back to agency-level technical rulemaking.

    Business Operations Continue Uninterrupted

    Corporate leadership maintains that business operations will proceed without adjustments in the wake of the legislative stall. According to remarks by Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse, commercial activity and cross-border agreements are maintaining their standard operational momentum.

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s formal roadmap outlines the release of updated regulatory guidance for the spot market toward the end of the fourth quarter, which may provide further clarity on the regulatory treatment of digital commodities.

  • Interactive Map Reveals Exactly Where 67 Million U.S. Crypto Holders Live

    Interactive Map Reveals Exactly Where 67 Million U.S. Crypto Holders Live

    An interactive map from the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) estimates where approximately 67 million U.S. crypto holders live, with data available for all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the 435 U.S. House districts in the 119th Congress.

    The nonprofit crypto education organization presents the figures through a map hub featuring state-level and congressional district views. Users can explore estimated cryptocurrency ownership across individual areas.

    Ripple Chief Legal Officer and NCA President Stuart Alderoty highlighted the maps in an Aug. 24 post on X, stating:

    “67 million Americans hold crypto. 232,000 American jobs are supported by the industry. The National Cryptocurrency Association built two maps so you can see the data by state and district.”

    California has the highest estimated number of crypto holders, at approximately 9.5 million. Texas follows with 5.94 million, ahead of Florida with 4.71 million, New York with 4.66 million, and Illinois with 2.64 million.

    The estimates are based on the 2026 State of Crypto Holders Report, which found that roughly one in four American adults owns cryptocurrency. At the regional level, ownership generally follows the distribution of the U.S. population. The South accounts for 38% of holders, the West represents 27%, and the Midwest and Northeast each account for 18%.

    This distribution suggests that crypto ownership is spread across the country rather than concentrated solely in major technology and financial centers.

    The NCA’s interactive map estimates crypto ownership by state, with California leading at 9.5 million holders, followed by Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois.

    Crypto Holder Figures Are Modeled Estimates

    The map does not provide verified counts of individually identified crypto owners. Instead, its figures are statistical estimates based on a national demographic model and district-level signals. The model uses a sample of 10,000 U.S. crypto holders to produce a posterior mean and a 95% credible interval for each geographic area.

    The posterior mean is the model’s central estimate after incorporating the available evidence. The credible interval shows the range in which the model calculates that the actual figure is likely to fall. California’s estimate, for example, ranges from approximately 9.09 million to 9.92 million holders.

    The broader ownership estimate comes from an online survey conducted by The Harris Poll for the NCA between Feb. 12 and March 3. Researchers weighted the survey results supporting the 67 million estimate and extrapolated them to the wider U.S. crypto-owning population. The sample data has a margin of error of 0.7 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

    Separate research provides a narrower comparison focused on bitcoin. A July study estimated that 49.6 million Americans hold bitcoin, equivalent to 18.6% of the adult population. The NCA’s figure covers cryptocurrency ownership broadly, while the bitcoin study measures ownership of one digital asset.

    Crypto ownership may include assets held through software wallets, hardware devices, or accounts managed by centralized platforms. The different storage arrangements determine how holders store and access their digital assets.

    Crypto Industry Supports Nearly 232,000 U.S. Jobs

    A separate NCA dataset measures the crypto industry’s economic impact in individual states. Nationwide, the industry supports 231,845 jobs, generates $55.4 billion in economic activity, and contributes $30.8 billion in worker income, according to an analysis by the Pragmatic Policy Group commissioned by the association.

    The employment total includes approximately 34,000 direct jobs at crypto companies, 75,000 indirect positions at suppliers, and 123,000 induced jobs supported by employee spending. The analysis estimates that each direct crypto job supports roughly six additional roles in industries including professional services, health care, insurance, food service, and logistics.

    The NCA launched in March 2025 with a $50 million grant from Ripple to promote cryptocurrency education and public awareness. At the time, Alderoty said the association’s purpose was to provide Americans with facts, resources, tools, and support for engaging with crypto.

    California also leads the employment map, with approximately 57,600 crypto-supported jobs, $16.9 billion in economic impact, and $7.7 billion in worker income. New York follows with 53,800 jobs, while Texas supports 26,500, Washington accounts for 15,100, and North Carolina has approximately 9,500.

  • Ripple Executive: Clarity Act Could Create More Jobs in the U.S.

    Ripple Executive: Clarity Act Could Create More Jobs in the U.S.

    Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty has linked the passage of the CLARITY Act to potential job creation and broader economic growth in the United States.

    “A vote for Clarity is a vote for jobs and economic growth,” Alderoty wrote on X.

    His comments follow the release of new research from the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) examining the cryptocurrency industry’s contribution to the U.S. labor market. Produced in partnership with Pragmatic Policy Group, the report estimates that the crypto sector will support 232,000 jobs across the country in 2026.

    Approximately 34,000 of those positions are direct jobs at cryptocurrency companies such as Ripple and Coinbase. Suppliers and contractors serving the industry support another 75,000 jobs, including roles at law firms, cloud-computing providers and accounting businesses.

    According to the NCA, the cryptocurrency industry contributes more than $55 billion to the U.S. economy and generates about $31 billion in worker income.

    California leads the country with approximately 57,600 crypto-supported jobs, followed by New York with 53,800 and Texas with 26,500. Washington, North Carolina and Colorado account for 15,100, 9,500 and 5,800 jobs, respectively.

    The study also found that crypto-linked employment offers relatively high wages. Average pay across the jobs included in the report is approximately $133,000, compared with a national median wage of $64,000.

    CLARITY Act remains stalled in the Senate

    The CLARITY Act remains unfinished despite making substantial progress in Congress. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a 294-134 vote in July 2025 before advancing to the Senate.

    The Senate Banking Committee moved the legislation forward in a bipartisan 15-9 vote in May. Senate lawmakers released updated bill language in July.

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune later pushed the planned vote beyond the August recess. A cloture vote is now scheduled for Sept. 15.

    White House officials continue to argue that the CLARITY Act can advance in September. For now, however, the outlook remains unfavorable for crypto bulls.