Navigating the American Maze: What Global Crypto Companies Need to Know About U.S. Federal and State Regulatory Dynamics

The United States is both the largest economy in the world and, arguably, the most complicated regulatory environment for digital assets. For crypto companies – both domestic and international – hoping to build, scale, or serve U.S. customers, it’s a terrain that demands not just legal precision but also political literacy.

The recent momentum around stablecoin legislation offers a case study in how state and federal forces interact—and why companies ignoring one or the other do so at their risk.

The American Dual System: Divided Sovereignty
Unlike most countries, the U.S. does not have a single national financial regulator. Instead, it operates under a dual system in which both federal and state governments exercise oversight. Banks, money transmitters, securities issuers, and commodities traders can all be subject to overlapping or even conflicting rules, depending on their activities and locations.

For crypto companies, this means that “U.S. compliance” isn’t a box to be checked once. It’s a constant balancing act. And it’s not just about agencies like the SEC, CFTC, and FinCEN—it’s also about state banking supervisors, attorneys general, and legislatures.

Stablecoins: Where State-Led Innovation Met Federal Hesitation
Stablecoins illustrate this dynamic perfectly. When the U.S. Senate voted 68-30 last week to advance the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act of 2025, America took its biggest step yet toward a national regime for payment stablecoins. Just two months earlier, the House Financial Services Committee moved an aligned stablecoin measure – the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act – and both chambers now appear eager to deliver a landmark crypto statute before the 2026 election cycle.

The GENIUS Act (Senate) and STABLE Act (House) share DNA—reserve requirements, third-party attestations, clear redemption windows—but diverge on chartering mechanics. GENIUS lets a state-licensed issuer operate nationwide if it meets a federal “floor,” while STABLE prefers a single federal license with optional state add-ons. If both advance, the conference committee will merge them, not choose one.

For crypto companies, this flurry of federal activity is welcome—but also misleading. Washington may be sprinting, yet the practical gatekeepers remain the states. New York’s BitLicense, Wyoming’s SPDI charter, Nebraska’s Digital Asset Depository, and Texas’s stablecoin law still dictate U.S. market entry. Even if one of the pending federal bills becomes law, it will not wipe these state statutes away; they will still ultimately decide who lives and dies in U.S. retail wallets.

This hybrid model—federal floor, state ceiling—reflects the political compromise needed to move legislation in the U.S. It’s also a signal to global crypto companies: the U.S. is not going to “pick a lane” between federal and state oversight anytime soon. You must be prepared to drive in both.

Lessons for Global Crypto Companies
So what does this mean in practice for crypto firms evaluating a U.S. strategy? Below are six rules of the road—drawn from the recent stablecoin example—that any global crypto firm should follow when plotting a U.S. strategy.

1. Start With Use Case, Not Structure
   The U.S. regulatory framework often categorizes activities based on what you're doing, not what kind of entity you are. Are you issuing a stablecoin? Transmitting funds? Offering a custodial wallet? Facilitating secondary market trading of tokens? Each of these may trigger different state or federal licensing obligations.

A common mistake is to assume that a single federal license – say, as a money services business under FinCEN – “covers” your U.S. operations. It doesn’t. You may also need 49 state money transmitter licenses. Or a special-purpose trust charter. Or approval under state securities laws.

Start by mapping your use cases and product flows. Then overlay the applicable regulatory layers. This isn't just a compliance exercise – it's foundational to product design.

2. Don’t Bet Against the States
   Global founders often assume that once Congress acts, a single federal license will “cover” the United States. The reality: Congress rarely pre-empts the states, especially on consumer protection. The GENIUS Act preserves state charters explicitly; a Wyoming SPDI or New York trust company can continue issuing if it satisfies federal reserve-ratio and disclosure floors. In other words, the states will still vet your capitalization, audit cadence, and executive team.

The upside? States innovate faster. New York’s 2018 stablecoin guidance became the template for national reserve-asset discussions. Wyoming authorized on-chain lien filings years before Capitol Hill held its first NFT hearing. Embracing a forward-leaning state can yield a sandbox, a press win, and a regulatory track record long before a federal charter is available.

3. Borrow a Bank’s Rails Before You Build Your Own
   Under both House and Senate drafts, insured depository institutions automatically qualify to issue stablecoins subject to Fed oversight. Non-banks must clear higher capital and liquidity hurdles. For many foreign teams, the simplest route is to partner with an existing U.S. bank—leveraging its charter, BSA/AML program, and Fed master account—to speed token launch while you pursue your own license in parallel. Expect those banks to demand board seats, revenue sharing, and veto rights; negotiate accordingly.

4. Build a Split-Screen Compliance Program
   A foreign compliance manual will not survive U.S. scrutiny. You need:

• State overlay: BitLicense transaction-monitoring, Texas reserve attestations, Wyoming custodial segregation.
• Federal overlay: FinCEN AML audits, SEC anti-fraud rules (for any token that migrates into “security” status), potential Fed examinations under the GENIUS Act.
• Cross-border overlay: OFAC sanctions screening and export-control rules that bite whenever a U.S. person touches your protocol.

Design your controls in layers so each new license adds modules, not a total rewrite. That modular approach keeps your U.S. stack nimble as Congress tweaks the stablecoin bill or the SEC finalizes its long-promised token-safekeeping rule.

5. Advocacy Is Risk Management
   Had Circle, Paxos, and Coinbase not spent three years walking the halls of Congress—testifying, replying to “Dear Colleague” letters, and frankly educating staffers—the GENIUS Act would look very different. Even foreign-headquartered firms can shape policy by:

• Joining trade groups (e.g., Crypto Council for Innovation, Chamber of Digital Commerce).
• Providing technical walkthroughs to state banking commissioners.
• Submitting comment letters on reserve-asset definitions, redemption timelines, and privacy safeguards.

Each touchpoint de-risks future surprises and flags your brand as a “good actor” when enforcement triage begins.

6. Treat Compliance as Competitive Advantage, not a Cost Center
   The market has rewarded early movers who chose the hard path. Circle’s IPO—coming amid the GENIUS Act buzz—out-performed Coinbase’s 2021 debut because investors now see regulatory clarity as a moat, not a drag. Stripe’s recent acquisition of a wallet provider underscores Big Tech’s pivot back into crypto only after policy contours firmed up. Building a visible, belt-and-suspenders program today positions you for partnership deals and M&A exits tomorrow.

The Big Misconception: “Waiting It Out” Will Be Cheaper
Some global founders hope to delay U.S. entry until a final federal law removes the patchwork. The stablecoin saga shows why that is backwards:

• Even after national legislation, state engagement remains compulsory.
• Every quarter of delay cedes market share to rivals who already hold a trust charter.
• “Watching from the sidelines” forfeits a seat at the negotiating table—so the rules you eventually inherit may be hostile to your business model.

The smarter move is sequenced compliance: start with a low-friction state, pilot a narrow product, gather supervisory goodwill, and expand into tougher jurisdictions as federal law crystallizes.

What Happens if Neither Bill Passes?
Gridlock is always possible. If Congress stalls, states will keep innovating. New York is rumored to require real-time reserve attestations next year; Florida is toying with a retail pilot that would make stablecoin wallets eligible for sales-tax rebates. The market will not wait for Capitol Hill. Your strategy should not, either.

The United States can feel like 51 jurisdictions locked in an eternal debate. Yet for crypto companies with global ambition, its market depth and institutional capital remain unrivaled. The forthcoming stablecoin framework is poised to add a long-missing top layer of certainty—but it will sit on state foundations, not replace them.

The stablecoin debate shows that a federal solution is possible—and that state-led innovation is already shaping the path. For those willing to engage with both, the rewards can be enormous. But for those waiting for the fog to lift entirely before entering the market, one thing is clear: you may be left behind.

About the Author
Article authored by Jennie Levin, CLOO at Algorand Foundation