Quick Read
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SEC and CFTC rules can classify XRP as a digital commodity but lack statutory authority to oversee spot market transactions, leaving a critical jurisdiction gap.
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CLARITY Act failed cloture by 11 votes, but ChatGPT warns rulemaking only changes how existing law is administered, not the law itself.
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XRP’s settled legal status after five years in court remains reversible by two future commissioners, with the token trading near $1.30.
The CLARITY Act failed to advance in the Senate, leaving XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) without the broader federal crypto framework many investors expected. Now, the SEC and CFTC say they can move ahead with new crypto rules using authority they already have.
We asked ChatGPT to examine what SEC and CFTC rules could change for XRP, where those powers stop, and whether they could provide the same regulatory certainty as the CLARITY Act.
What Does ChatGPT Think the SEC and CFTC Can Do for XRP?
ChatGPT believes the SEC and CFTC can act on pieces of what the CLARITY Act would have done, but neither agency can grant itself power Congress hasn’t given it, and neither can write a rule that a future chair can’t undo.
The SEC can write rules on how crypto tokens are offered, what issuers must disclose, and when a token counts as a security rather than a commodity, using authority Congress already gave it under the securities laws. Atkins framed the agency’s push in those terms, describing rulemaking as a head start on legislation rather than a replacement.
Ripple’s years-long SEC lawsuit already resolved the core securities question for XRP sold on secondary markets. New SEC rules on token offerings would mainly affect how XRP-linked products get issued and disclosed going forward, which would still narrow the regulatory uncertainty facing Ripple and other XRP-related businesses.
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Meanwhile, the CFTC already regulates commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act, and Selig has directed staff to draft rules for a new exchange-registration category for spot crypto trading. US exchanges currently operate mainly under state money-transmitter licenses, because the CFTC has clear authority over futures markets but not spot markets the way the CLARITY Act would have given it.
