Clarity Act Failure Could Push Crypto Business to Asia and the Middle East, Says Apex Group CEO

Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex Group, warns that the United States could lose digital asset business to faster-moving regions if it keeps delaying crypto legislation, coindesk report. The Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed in September to pass the Clarity Act, which would have set clearer federal rules and split oversight between the SEC and the CFTC. Disputes over ethics provisions and stablecoin rewards sank the bill. Hughes expects companies to look elsewhere, naming Asia, the Middle East and even Bermuda as places moving quickly on the right regimes. He does not think Europe will gain, describing its MiCA rules as slow to evolve and restrictive. The SEC and CFTC have since proposed their own crypto rules to fill the gap.

Tokenized Money Market Funds and Yield Bearing Stablecoins

Hughes sees tokenized money market funds as a major driver of institutional adoption. He pointed to a 5% return from such a fund against 3% from a bank savings account, a gap that could pull investors away from banks.

These funds can also serve as collateral, letting institutions borrow without locking up their money, and major banks are already looking at that use. He expects regulated, yield bearing stablecoins to become a useful tool for corporate treasuries if issuers meet reserve transparency rules, though he can’t say whether that takes one, three or five years. He also suggested U.S. banks have shaped the Clarity and GENIUS debates to protect their position.

Saudi Arabia Tokenization Partnership and Real World Assets

Apex Group, which services over $3.5 trillion in assets across 50 jurisdictions, recently partnered with droppRWA and Tokeny to turn real world assets into regulated blockchain investment products, starting in Saudi Arabia. droppRWA’s Faisal Monai says the country has already changed rules to allow real estate tokenization and more foreign participation, and the missing piece is infrastructure linking each token to the asset’s legal record. He predicts tokenization will become the mainstream way capital flows into Saudi Arabia. Hughes expects it to reach retirement accounts and retail customers too, as regulators grow more comfortable.