The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has appointed Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse to its newly formed Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC). This 35-member group is tasked with advising the agency on emerging technologies, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, and digital asset markets. The appointment places a prominent crypto industry executive directly within a federal advisory structure as regulators work to develop clearer rules for the sector.
The committee includes leaders from both traditional finance and the crypto sector, such as exchange executives, infrastructure providers, and market operators. This mix is intended to help the CFTC better understand technological developments affecting derivatives and commodity markets, areas increasingly overlapping with digital assets.
For Ripple and its associated digital asset XRP, this development is particularly significant. The company spent nearly five years in a high-profile legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the classification of XRP. Garlinghouse's appointment signals a potential shift toward regulatory collaboration over confrontation, which could ease the long-term legal uncertainty that has weighed on XRP's market performance.
While the committee does not directly set policy, Garlinghouse's presence provides a channel for industry input on cross-border payments, token liquidity, and blockchain infrastructure—areas central to Ripple's business. This engagement is viewed as a step toward greater regulatory normalization and could improve investor confidence in XRP.
Concurrently, on-chain data reveals a measured selling pressure on XRP. Approximately 100 million XRP, valued at $130 million, moved to exchanges over the past 10 days. Analysts note this activity lacks the intensity and duration of the sustained distribution seen before the 2022 bear market, suggesting the current selling is controlled. Technical analysis indicates XRP faces key resistance between $1.78 and $1.80, with immediate support near $1.27.
