Despite being a big part of the cryptocurrency bull case for 2026, the U.S. CLARITY Act is shaping up to be a major point of contention within the industry, and Cardano’s (ADA) Charles Hoskinson and Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse appear to be on opposite sides of the debate.
Specifically, in a live broadcast on Elon Musk’s X, dated January 18, Hoskinson voiced his displeasure with Garlinghouse’s continued backing of the bill.
Indeed, Ripple CEO praised the Senate Banking Committee’s so-called CLARITY Act in a January 14 X post, calling it ‘long-overdue’ but also ‘a massive step forward in providing workable frameworks for crypto, while continuing to protect consumers.’
Garlinghouse, within the same statement, emphasized that the main benefit of the legislative move is clarity for the industry, while noting that he and his company ‘know firsthand that clarity beats chaos.’
Ripple has been involved in a destructive legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for years and only settled the issue in the summer of 2025.
Hoskinson, along with several other prominent cryptocurrency executives, has been growing increasingly critical of the CLARITY Act and its continued supporters. The Cardano founder was particularly shocked that Garlinghouse’s approach appears to be that having no legislation is better than having no legislation.
“And you still got people like Brad saying, well, it’s not perfect, but we just got to get something, you know, it’s better than no clarity. Handed to the same people who sued us,” Hoskinson declared.
Why Cardano’s Hoskinson opposes the CLARITY Act
Indeed, Charles Hoskinson appears concerned with the time CLARITY Act took to take shape, and not just with its contents, having previously blamed President Donald Trump – whom he described as a ‘mercurial boy-king’ in the latest broadcast – for his involvement with various presidential family-branded digital assets.
He also blamed the commander-in-chief for eroding trust in cryptocurrencies at a critical time, explaining he was particularly disappointed as he initially viewed the Republican’s electoral victory as a positive development for the sector.
Elsewhere, Hoskinson is far from the only prominent figure in the industry to not back the CLARITY Act. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced he is withdrawing his support for the legislation on January 14.
According to Armstrong, the biggest issues with the document are a de facto ban on tokenized assets, giving the government too much oversight over individuals’ financial records, a depowering of the CFTC in favor of the SEC, and amendments that could kill rewards on stablecoins.
Hoskinson took particular issue with empowering the SEC, saying:
“137 amendments later, it hands the entire keys to the cryptocurrency kingdom to the SEC. And you have to go and beg for them to make it not a security. All new projects are securities by default. How is that any better than what Scary Gary (Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler) gave us under Biden.”
Why Ripple prioritizes legal clarity
Garlinghouse’s perspective, for what it is worth, appears sensible and unsensible at the same time. On the one hand, backing an imperfect piece of legislation for the sake of some clarity appears at odds with Ripple’s own legal history.
Indeed, the SEC has, for years, insisted that the rules for the cryptocurrency market are clear, and the fact that various digital assets companies disagree with the framework does not make it invalid. The posterchild for this approach has been the application of the famous Howey Test on coins and tokens, and especially those involved in initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Considering such a history, it appears odd that Garlinghouse would praise deficient legislation simply for the sake of it providing clarity.
On the other hand, however, Ripple has been embroiled in a legal battle against a Federal agency for years and has, along with multiple other companies, argued that new bills are needed as the existing framework – with the Howey Test once more being a posterchild – simply being inadequate.
Between the fact that the CLARITY Act is, at the very least, a tailor-made piece of legislation, XRP’s strong market success in the wake of the SEC settlement, and Ripple’s expansion and continuation of operations as exemplified by the RLUSD stablecoin’s growth and the latest 1 billion XRP unlock, a desire for clarity moving forward does appear sensible.
Featured image via Messari YouTube
