Wall Street broker Bernstein said the United States has taken a decisive step towards becoming the crypto capital of the world with the rollout of a comprehensive regulatory framework.
The GENIUS Act, now law, has accelerated the stablecoin market, pushing U.S. dollar-backed supply beyond $260 billion, the broker said in a report released Wednesday. The next CLARITY Act, expected in late 2025, will establish the first coherent market structure for digital assets, clearly dividing responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and resolving years of regulatory uncertainty, he said.
According to analysts led by Gautam Chhugani, the centerpiece of this transformation is SEC Chairman Atkins’ Crypto Project, the most ambitious effort to date to merge securities markets with blockchain technology.
The initiative aims to restore innovation by classifying most crypto assets outside of securities law, allowing tokenized stocks and bonds and licensed brokers to manage traditional and digital assets under a single regulatory framework.
It also aims to modernize infrastructure for on-chain trading and 24/7 settlement, reducing costs for tokenized securities, stablecoins and crypto assets, analysts said. This clarity reduced the risk of policy change for the sector and helped unlock new institutional participation.
Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) now hold $160 billion in assets, the report said, with institutions accounting for about a quarter of spot ETF investors.
Bernstein said the digital asset IPO market has rebounded this year, raising $4 billion since January, while the market value of publicly traded crypto companies has grown from $80 billion at the start of 2024 to $380 billion, with Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) now part of the S&P 500 stock index.
A new, more sustainable crypto cycle is taking shape, fueled by clear rules, institutional capital and deeper integration of blockchain into the financial system, the report adds.
Learn more: Diversification, not hype, now drives investment in digital assets: Sygnum
