‘Pass the DAM Clarity Act’: Ripple CTO Emeritus Gives Stalled US Crypto Bill Ironic New Identity

Prominent cryptographer and Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has found a concise way to describe the main political drama facing the U.S. crypto market. In a post on X, he suggested shortening the official name of the crucial Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to the DAM Clarity Act, which sounds like “the damn Clarity Act.”

“Pass the DAM Clarity Act already,” Schwartz wrote, and the short remark immediately drew attention because it accurately captured the industry’s growing frustration with the prolonged disputes in Washington.

Why Schwartz’s three-word joke is rattling the U.S. crypto standoff

The bill is trying to make it through the U.S. Senate before American lawmakers leave for their traditional August recess. Pressure from the industry has now reached its peak. 

Shortly before Schwartz’s post, current Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse directly urged lawmakers to stop searching for perfect wording and pass the legislation in its current form. According to him, the industry simply cannot wait any longer.

The essence of the bill is a sweeping reform of the rules governing the market. The legislation proposes shifting oversight of the crypto market away from the strict supervision of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and placing it under the more crypto-friendly Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC.

This would automatically resolve the long-running dispute over the status of major cryptocurrencies, including XRP, by formally recognizing them as digital commodities. At the same time, the bill would introduce clear security standards designed to protect ordinary investors from market manipulation.

Although the U.S. Treasury has described the legislation as being in its final stage, behind-the-scenes disputes are continuing in the Senate. Some lawmakers are demanding tougher anti-money-laundering provisions and stricter controls over stablecoins.

Lawmakers have almost no time left to reach a compromise, with only days remaining before the recess. As the Senate remains stuck in endless negotiations, Schwartz’s sardonic title risks becoming the most accurate description of the bill’s fate.