SBI Holdings cited uncertainty over U.S. digital asset regulation as a reason XRP has continued to show weak price action. It said investor sentiment has cooled as markets watch whether the U.S. Senate will advance the Clarity bill.

On Aug. 3 local time, blockchain media outlet Decrypt reported that SBI Holdings director Yasuo Nishikawa (니시카와 야스오) said at the fiscal 2027 first-quarter earnings briefing that “XRP’s price remains suppressed, as if it is trying to assess the direction of the Clarity bill.” The briefing was held on behalf of Chairman and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao.

Nishikawa said the company’s broader crypto business has been affected by market weakness and that XRP has not been able to break from that trend. He assessed that investors are postponing the expansion of new positions until the regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States becomes clear.

XRP has also remained under pressure. It recently traded around $1.06, down 1.34 percent over 24 hours and down 2.29 percent over the past week. It is down 42.31 percent so far this year. Markets see it as difficult to find a clear catalyst for a rise until regulatory uncertainty is resolved.

SBI Holdings said its long-term investment stance in Ripple remains unchanged. Nishikawa said the value of the company’s Ripple stake is about 660 billion yen and stressed it views Ripple’s growth potential positively regardless of market weakness.

Performance in the crypto business has been affected by the market downturn. He said profitability in the related businesses has slowed overall, but the global crypto market-making business continues to generate stable earnings.

SBI Holdings is also continuing to expand its business in preparation for a market recovery. It is preparing new services such as stablecoin offerings and crypto lending products, and plans to keep investing in its digital asset business based on Japan’s relatively clear regulatory environment.

SBI Group is also expanding stablecoin-related services through its subsidiary SBI VC Trade and is pursuing the acquisition of Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank. If the acquisition is completed, customer accounts would rise to about 3 million and assets under custody would increase to about 870 billion yen, positioning it as one of Japan’s major digital asset trading platforms.

The U.S. congressional timetable also remains a market variable. The Clarity bill is currently under Senate review, and lawmakers must decide whether to proceed before the August recess, by Aug. 7. Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto said supporter contacts with lawmakers urging passage of the bill have surpassed 1 million.

There are also many points of contention. Debate continues over regulatory oversight authority, state-level enforcement powers, anti-money laundering rules and ethics provisions. With limited time remaining, progress on the bill depends on whether it can secure sufficient bipartisan support in the Senate.

The industry sees that if the bill passes, uncertainty over the U.S. digital asset regulatory framework would be reduced substantially, which could have a positive impact on investment sentiment for major cryptocurrencies including XRP. If consideration is delayed again, some see a possibility that the broader market, including XRP, will remain in a wait-and-see mode for some time.