The U.S. crypto legislation has entered a critical moment, and Ripple Labs recently issued a public warning that the draft of the “2025 Responsible Financial Innovation Act” proposed by the Senate could permanently place mainstream crypto assets such as Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Ripple (XRP) under the regulation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This move has raised widespread concerns in the industry about excessive regulation and hindrance to innovation. This article will provide an in-depth analysis of Ripple’s latest statement, key points of the bill, and its potential impact on the crypto industry.
Ripple submitted a response to the Senate on August 5, emphasizing that the vague definition of “ancillary assets” in the draft could lead to a long-term regulation of a large number of digital tokens (including ETH, SOL, XRP) by the SEC. The company warned that this would leave room for excessive interpretation and policy tightening by future SEC leadership, posing a serious threat to innovation and development in the encryption industry.
Ripple pointed out that the current draft approach may lead to even mainstream tokens operating on open, permissionless networks and widely circulated being permanently supervised by the SEC. Ripple emphasized that the SEC’s authority should be limited to specific investment contract transactions and should not extend indefinitely to all future transactions of the assets, otherwise it will severely impact market stability and innovation vitality.
Ripple further calls on Congress to clearly define the scope of the Howey Test to prevent the SEC from suppressing the market through subjective interpretation. The company suggests that if the Howey Test is codified, safeguards should be put in place to prevent regulatory agencies from abusing their power, and to clarify that “entrepreneurial or managerial efforts” do not include core network functions or daily administrative services, in order to ensure the healthy development of the blockchain ecosystem.
Despite expressing concerns about regulatory authority, Ripple also affirms the provisions in the bill that protect actively traded tokens for over five years, believing that this will enhance the predictability and stability of existing digital assets, injecting confidence into industry development.
Ripple’s warning regarding the new Senate bill highlights significant divergences in the U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory path. If major coins like ETH, SOL, and XRP are permanently subject to stringent SEC regulation, it will inevitably have far-reaching effects on the entire cryptocurrency industry landscape. Investors and the industry should closely monitor legislative developments to seize policy turning points.