"We were pretty darn close to the Clarity Act going into the Banking Committee markup process, which would have been a big positive step," Garinghouse said.
"I think that it is so clear that clarity is better than chaos. The Clarity Act, as written, is not perfect…There's things I don't love about it. Let's not let perfection get in the way of progress," he stated.
Ripple has been "a big advocate" of pushing the legislation through because of its journey with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Garlinghouse added.
Even though Ripple does have clarity after a federal judge ruled that XRP is not a security, the industry still does not have clarity.
"Whether we like it or not, the fortunes of Ripple rise and fall a little bit on the fortunes of the crypto industry," he stressed.
The CLARITY Act remains stuck in committee, but high-level negotiations are intensifying to break the deadlock before the spring recess.
Recently, Ripple took part in a failed summit between banking and crypto executives at the White House.
Pressure is now mounting from the administration to finalize a framework before the 2026 midterm election.