CLARITY Act delayed: XRP price hit hard, where does it go from here?

Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed Thursday that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act will not get a floor vote before the Senate's August recess. 

"The Dems are insistent on no Clarity vote," Thune said in a statement, adding that the bill would be "queued up first thing" when the chamber returns in September. Lawmakers left Washington Monday and are not expected back until September 14.

XRP absorbed the news harder than any other major token. It fell for a fifth consecutive session, touching a weekly low of $1.04 on August 6 and trading near $1.01 to $1.06 as of Friday, down from above $1.09 earlier in the week. 

BTC, by contrast, barely moved, holding near $64,300 to $64,700. Cardano went the other direction entirely and extended a rally.

XRP’s dip: A classic sell-the-news flush

The CLARITY Act would have permanently classified XRP as a commodity under federal law, and replaced a reversible ‘SEC vs. CFTC’ interpretation. That single provision made XRP the token most directly tied to the bill's outcome among the majors.

It also made it the most exposed once the vote slipped.

XRP ETFs pulled in $131.94 million in May, their strongest month of 2026, during the same stretch the bill was advancing through committee. By July, that figure had fallen to roughly $27 million; this month, inflows are running even thinner, with Bitwise's fund recording a $3.58 million outflow on August 5 alone. 

XRP broke down from a symmetrical triangle pattern this week and roughly 60% of the token's circulating supply is held at a loss, with an average cost basis near $1.48.

Futures volume over the past 24 hours reached close to $2 billion and roughly $6 million in long positions were liquidated as traders caught on the wrong side of the drop were forced out. 

Other token moves: A tale of decoupling

BTC held close to flat, trading in the mid-$64,000s with less than a percentage point of movement on the day, a possible sign that BTC’s price action this week was driven more by macro factors, including softening oil prices and geopolitical tensions.

Cardano moved in the opposite direction of XRP, for reasons that have nothing to do with the CLARITY Act. ADA climbed roughly 10% to 20% over the past week, breaking above a multi-month descending channel to trade near $0.19 to $0.21. 

The rally is tied to Cardano's own development roadmap: the activation of the Van Rossem hard fork, Ouroboros Leios progress and whale wallet accumulation, according to on-chain data.

Cardano's Nakamoto coefficient, a measure of network decentralisation, also hit a record high of 16 this week. 

XRP price: levels to watch

XRP has defended the $1.00 to $1.06 range for five weeks now, absorbing both the initial CLARITY Act delay on July 27 and this week's formal confirmation without a decisive break lower. 

Whether that holds through September depends largely on two things outside the token's control: ETF inflows finding a floor and a concrete follow through of CLARITY Act being the “first thing” on the agenda when the Senate reconvenes.

Important information: This informational content is written by Crypto.com and should not be considered as an investment recommendation or advice. Trading cryptocurrencies carries risks, such as price volatility and market risks. Before deciding to take cryptocurrency positions, consider your risk appetite. All forecasting methods, scenarios, and examples are illustrative and subject to market uncertainty.

Past performance offers context but does not ensure future results. Investment outcomes are subject to market volatility, economic changes, and other unpredictable variables.