Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett says one message kept coming up during her recent trip across Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines: the U.S. is still viewed across much of Asia-Pacific as a model for digital asset regulation and institutional participation.
That view may surprise many people inside the U.S., where the industry has spent years arguing that unclear rules are holding crypto back.
Terrett said that contrast stood out during her trip. One person she interviewed at a Singapore-based company told her Americans “seem to forget how good you have it in the U.S.”
Terrett’s comments come shortly after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, legislation designed to create a broader federal framework for digital assets. The bill did not reach the 60 votes needed to move forward.
That failure reinforced the view among many U.S. crypto companies that federal market-structure rules remain unfinished.
Yet Terrett’s conversations across APAC point to a different perception overseas.
The U.S. still has deep capital markets, large institutional players, spot crypto ETFs and a regulatory system that many companies abroad continue to study closely.
Just landed back in the USA after an incredible trip through Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines. One message I heard repeatedly across APAC: America is seen as a blueprint for digital asset regulation and institutional participation. As someone who focuses on Crypto In America, that stuck with me. Here at home, the lack of clear market structure rules and the long fight to establish them have left many feeling the U.S. is falling behind globally. Yet across APAC, America is still viewed as the gold standard, even after the Clarity Act failed to pass. One person I interviewed at a Singapore-based company told me: “You guys seem to forget how good you have it in the U.S.” Of course, there’s nuance. Without a federal legislative framework, states are now back in focus. Illinois is the latest example. Crypto advocates warn its draft Digital Asset Tax rules could treat DEXes as brokers and require protocols to collect personal data, which they say could chill DeFi activity in the U.S. Looking forward to continuing this conversation this morning at @dcfintechweek with Jerome Beaumont of @EGFIU and Bruno Batavia of @valorcapgroup. We’ll talk about how regulators should respond to emerging risks in financial markets without killing innovation.
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) October 13, 2026
So even with clear gaps at the federal level, America is still viewed by some international market participants as the benchmark.
Illinois Shows Why the Debate Is Far From Over
Terrett also pointed to Illinois as an example of how state-level rules are moving back into focus.
The Illinois Department of Revenue recently released draft rules for its Digital Asset Tax Act and is accepting public comments through October 30. The law places a 0.2% tax on certain digital asset business activity beginning January 1, 2027.
Crypto advocates have raised concerns that the scope of state rules could create compliance problems for decentralized finance platforms if protocols are treated similarly to traditional brokers.
That gets to the central point in Terrett’s post.
The U.S. may still be viewed abroad as the standard for crypto regulation and institutional participation, but domestically the rules remain fragmented.
Without a federal framework, more of the pressure moves to states, agencies and courts.
For the industry, that means America can still be the model and still have plenty left to fix at the same time.
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