Bringing Crypto Back to the U.S.: The Need for Comprehensive Market Structure

Welcome to FinTech TV.

I'm Emmy Blair.

The US crypto industry is at a tipping point.

After years of regulation by enforcement, Washington must either pass clear laws or lose its technological edge to global rivals.

Well joining me live here in Miami to discuss the path forward is Ji Hun Kim, the CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation. great to have you here.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Thanks for having me.

Great to be here.

Well, a lot is happening when it comes to the regulatory side.

So why do you think?

It is so important that codified laws get passed now.

Absolutely.

We are at a, as you pointed out, a very critical point when it comes to industry here in the United States.

We need market structure legislation.

As we know, last year, the House passed an overwhelming bipartisan fashion, the Clarity Act.

Now all eyes are on the Senate.

We're very hopeful for a markup as early as next week when it comes to making sure that we have these comprehensive laws in place.

One thing that I'll say, Remy, is the activity trends are pretty clear.

Despite the strong.

Long progress and momentum here in the United States.

A lot of the crypto activity is actually in other jurisdictions.

88% of the global market share for centralized exchange activity is outside the US.

75% of stablecoin volume is currently flows through foreign registered stablecoin issuers, and we only have 19% of crypto developers here in the United States.

What can bring that activity back to the US is those durable rules that you referenced, comprehensive market structure legislation, and the time is now, and that is what CCI has been advocating for, for a while now.

Yeah, and, when we're talking about those hard statistics, there's no denying what's actually happening outside of the US.

So first and foremost, I do want to get your take on why it's so important from a national security perspective as well.

Give us your insights.

Yeah, so crypto is global.

We like to say we like to connect the global dots, and it's important to look at what other jurisdictions are doing.

Because crypto is borderless.

So as the whole world looks to continue to embrace this technology, it's important to have cohesiveness across the board.

I like to call it the global race to the top.

Other jurisdictions have been leading when it comes to policy frameworks.

Of course, the EU is already operating under MICA.

The UK, after being relatively quiet, is now all focused on having a full regime as early as 2027.

Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, they already have licensing frameworks in place too.

So again, that is why it's so important for the US to lead and establish these rules so that we can bring the market to the US and grow innovation here in the US as well.

Yeah, and it's really interesting because when we think about a conference such as Consensus 2026, it's not just traditional finance or decentralized finance.

There are a lot of people who have experience in other industries.

We also have policymakers on the ground here, so it'll be interesting to hear these announcements and some of these conversations, but I understand that you were a federal bankruptcy law clerk, so just about.

What you bring to the table and what unique perspective you have.

Yeah, I would say two things.

Number one, bankruptcy is sort of the, the last of the generalists when it comes to being an attorney.

So as a bankruptcy attorney, I got to do litigation, corporate M&A, healthcare law.

So for crypto, it's similar.

You cut across so many different regulatory areas and jurisdictions.

So I bring that universal.

Overall approach to crypto.

Uh, and second, uh, the reason why I jumped into crypto is actually, I grew up at a law firm, spent about 7 to 8 years there.

And I used to listen to a lot of partners there talking about how they helped establish a US Bankruptcy Code in 1978.

I feel like this is the time for crypto, and I want to play a small part in ensuring that our country, the US, has a comprehensive framework codified into law.

Again, this is the time for crypto right now to do exactly that.

Yeah, and so in layman terms, when we're talking about the frameworks, the actual path to legislation, where are we right now and what do you think needs to happen?

Yeah, so as I mentioned earlier, so the House, one of the two chambers in the US government, passed the Clarity Act in a bipartisan fashion last July, and now the action is in the Senate.

So the Senate Agriculture Committee, which has oversight of the CFTC, they passed out their portion earlier in January.

Now, the Senate Banking, which has oversight over the SEC, that's where the action is currently.

What needs to happen, Remy, is that Senate Banking needs to do a markup again, which may happen as early as next week.

And then the two versions will be combined before a full vote on the Senate floor, and then you have to send it back to the House to finalize things before it gets to the president's desk.

And I do want to get your perspective on CCI recently integrating the Digital Energy Council.

So can you expand on this?

Of course, we're very excited about combining forces with the Digital Energy Council.

We think digital energy, mining, data centers will be critical.

To our industry and want to make sure we brought that expertise in-house at CCI.

Uh, we have a great team of, uh, subject matter experts cutting across different policy verticals.

This will only enhance our work, and we can best advocate for our members in Washington DC, in Brussels, in London, and around the world.

And finally, before I let you go, I know you've been to many conferences, especially when it comes to digital assets.

Why do you think this time around it's different in terms of where we are and where we're going?

Well, Miami's great first of all.

It's always fun to be in Miami, but really, There's so much positivity right now.

I know our, our country, our industry has been looking for this moment for a while now, and as you pointed out, Remy, this is the time, and as we await next steps from the Senate, a lot of folks, policymakers, regulators, as well as industry, we're all.

Watching this and to get everyone here in one room in one forum, excited and hopeful for next steps that our country can establish comprehensive arstructure.

That's why the energy is so great here in Miami right now.

Well, gee, it was great having you here.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

Thank you.

This is great.

Appreciate it.

Yeah.