We explore how U.S.-based crypto tokens have traded into and following major regulatory catalysts during U.S. Crypto Week. Using GMCI's taxonomy, we analyze market cap and momentum shifts to contextualize whether the prospect of clearer policy signals has already created structural tailwinds for tokens tied to U.S. legal entities.

CLARITY Act

With the U.S. Crypto Week behind us, attention now turns to what has actually advanced through Congress. This week, we focus on the CLARITY Act, passed by the House and now awaiting Senate review, and its implications for the U.S.-regulated tokens.

The CLARITY Act is expected to establish clearer jurisdictional boundaries between the SEC and CFTC. It mandates joint rulemaking for digital assets, hybrid transactions, and oversight coordination, aiming to reduce regulatory ambiguity and duplicative enforcement. While it still needs to pass the Senate and the timeline of implementation isn’t clear, there are some clear benefits, including:

• Reduced enforcement risk: Projects meeting decentralization criteria would fall under CFTC oversight, lowering the threat of SEC litigation.
• Improved institutional access: With greater legal certainty and classification as commodities, eligible tokens could be included in ETFs, ETPs, and even 401(k) offerings over time.

As a result, there seem to be some clear, structural, regulatory tailwinds to tokens with a legal entity set up in the United States. This week, we take a quick look at how that cohort has been trading into and on the back of the U.S.’s Crypto Week. 

U.S. Tokens

This analysis uses the GMCI Taxonomy, which identifies 41 tokens as clearly U.S.-based. While GMCI uses this to build its USA Select Index of 11 names, we consider the full cohort for this analysis. The taxonomy in this context provides a standardized framework for assessing U.S.-focused portfolios and aligning allocations with regional or thematic trends. 

Marketcap

We begin with a closer look at changes in market capitalization over time. For this analysis, we define three cohorts:

• Bitcoin
• Altcoins ex-BTC: Total market cap minus Bitcoin
• U.S. Tokens: The 41 tokens identified by GMCI as U.S.-based

While both altcoins and U.S. tokens have seen a notable surge in market cap over the past two weeks, driven largely by Bitcoin hitting new all-time highs just below $123K, a closer look at the bottom panel reveals a shift in relative performance. 

On a 30-day rolling basis, U.S. tokens are meaningfully catching up to the broader altcoin market. After lagging since May, their relative momentum has turned sharply in July, coinciding with the U.S. Crypto Week announcements and the recent policy tailwinds: the GENIUS Act being signed into law and both the CLARITY and anti-CBDC bills advancing through the House.

Momentum

Looking at momentum, we see similar signs of the U.S. token narrative gaining traction into July, with momentum strengthening notably at the start of the month. However, despite remaining strong in absolute terms, the broader altcoin market is currently showing even stronger momentum. As shown in the bottom panel, the first derivative of the relative momentum appears to have peaked last week following the policy announcements and is now beginning to taper off.

While there may be some near-term cooling following a wave of headlines, the broader direction appears clear: last week’s U.S. regulatory developments represent a constructive shift for the digital asset space. In particular, projects with U.S.-based legal entities may benefit from increased regulatory clarity, reduced enforcement ambiguity, and a clearer framework for potential institutional engagement.