Key Takeaways
- Bessent said Treasury can coordinate crypto rules with the SEC and CFTC after the Senate’s 49-50 vote.
- Ripple paired the Oct. 27 appearance with Robinhood and BNY deals and a final OCC bank charter approval.
- Swell’s main stage opens Oct. 28, with more announcements expected this week.
Bessent Says Treasury Has ‘a Lot of Convening Powers’
Bessent appeared on stage on Oct. 27 to open the 10th edition of Swell. CEO Brad Garlinghouse called it “an honor” to host the Treasury chief and credited the administration with “ensuring that responsible crypto can thrive in the US.”
The headline moment came when the conversation turned to Congress, and Bessent called the failure of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act a disappointment. He added that the Treasury would work with regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) instead, while also adding:
[The agencies could] fill the gap left by the Clarity Act’s failure. We are going to win in the digital asset stack. This will continue to fortify the dollar.
Lastly, according to some attendee accounts, Bessent closed out by saying the Treasury has “a lot of convening powers,” describing the SEC and CFTC as “great partners,” and saying regulators can set “guardrails” so crypto companies don’t get debanked.
Why the Clarity Act Gap Matters
The Clarity Act was designed to end the long turf war over which agency polices which tokens. That effort hit a wall on Sept. 15, when the Senate rejected cloture 49-50 on a motion to proceed, well short of the 60 votes required. Talks broke down over stablecoin rewards, illicit-finance safeguards and ethics rules covering President Donald Trump’s crypto interests. Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the bill’s chief backers, said afterward: “It’s over.”
That leaves the industry leaning on the agencies, and Bessent’s remarks, in that regard, signal that the Trump administration intends to keep moving without Congress, through rulemaking, guidance and closer coordination between the SEC and CFTC.
That route, however, carries its own risks given that California recently opposed an SEC plan on crypto over investor protection concerns, a preview of the pushback agency-led rules are likely to face.
Stablecoins as a Treasury Funding Source
Bessent also tied crypto directly to the dollar’s global standing. With more than 90% of stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, Bessent described them as “an important source” of funding for the Treasury, since issuers park large reserves in government debt.
The numbers behind that claim are significant, as stablecoin supply has grown to roughly $304 billion, up 129% since early 2024, although the market recently shed $12.7 billion as traders pulled dry powder.
Unlike market structure, dollar tokens already have a federal law in the GENIUS Act, which U.S. regulators are now preparing to implement.
Ripple Stacks Day Zero With Deals
Ripple used the stage to pile on the good news, and the company’s executive brass said they were bringing its infrastructure to Robinhood (from RLUSD settlement on the XRP Ledger to prime brokerage and treasury operations).
Moreover, Bitcoin.com News reported yesterday that the Robinhood deal puts RLUSD in front of the broker’s 29 million customers. Ripple also widened its BNY relationship across custody and tokenized trade finance, a push into a new trade finance market for the XRP Ledger.
Lastly, Ripple Treasury rolled out ’24/7 Returns’, which lets corporates earn on idle cash outside banking hours using stablecoins, while it was also confirmed that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had granted final approval for the Ripple National Trust Bank.
XRP Waits for a Reaction
For XRP holders, the open question is whether any of this moves its price. The token has been slow to respond to Ripple’s run of wins. It barely moved on the OCC news, with whales controlling 68.5% of supply, and entered the week sitting 64% below its peak.
Some in the community are already bracing for a repeat of past years, when Swell turned into a sell-the-news event. Expectations are running high anyway, and Ripple CTO emeritus David Schwartz reportedly told attendees there are 17 announcements planned.
