Summary
- The center of gravity of the global crypto industry has already moved offshore — only 12% of the top 10 centralized exchanges are U.S.-based, and 80% of crypto developers now live outside the U.S. Foreign jurisdictions with regulatory clarity are capturing the licenses, companies, and jobs the U.S. is losing.
- Since the GENIUS Act, the U.S. has already seen measurable repatriation, with companies coming back onshore and making major investments — proof that regulatory clarity works, and that comprehensive market structure legislation is needed now.
- Read the full report, including additional data on exchanges, developers, stablecoins, staking, and mining.
The Time to Pass Market Structure Legislation Is Now
Data in our new report shows a stark picture: the center of gravity of the global crypto industry has already moved offshore, and without action, it isn’t coming back.
Our new report, Why Digital Asset Market Structure is Needed Now, documents how the center of gravity of the global crypto industry has shifted offshore, and why comprehensive federal legislation is required to reverse that trend.
The Data
The global crypto market reached $2.6 trillion in market capitalization as of July 2026. U.S. market share of this activity is limited:
- Only 12% of the top 10 centralized exchanges by market share are U.S.-based.
- The U.S. captured just 2-5% of CEX volume growth from 2024 to 2025.
- 80% of crypto developers now live outside the United States. The U.S. share of global developer talent has declined 51% over the past decade, from 38% to 19% (Electric Capital).
Regulatory Clarity Produces Results
Foreign jurisdictions recognize that regulatory clarity unlocks growth in this rapidly growing industry. The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation has catalyzed roughly 180 exchange licenses and 40 stablecoin licenses since December 2024. The UAE is now home to more than 1,800 crypto companies, and Singapore has the highest density of crypto jobs per capita globally.
Since the passage of the GENIUS Act and continued progress toward the CLARITY Act, the U.S. has already seen measurable repatriation. Reflecting a wider movement toward building digital-asset infrastructure within the U.S. federal regulatory perimeter as momentum has grown toward a clearer regulatory environment, a number of digital asset firms have sought OCC national trust charters and other federal regulatory licenses. Transaction volumes on U.S. issued stablecoins are increasing. In each case, industry leaders described this progress as conditional on continued regulatory momentum.
The Cost of Delay
Capital, talent, and infrastructure are path-dependent. Once firms establish compliance functions, technical talent, and physical infrastructure abroad, reversing that investment becomes more difficult and more costly over time. Each year without comprehensive federal market structure legislation increases the cost of restoring U.S. leadership in this sector.
