Bitget plans to enter the U.S. market whether or not Congress passes the CLARITY Act, CEO Gracy Chen said, as the crypto exchange revives an expansion effort it put aside after the collapse of FTX in 2022 and the regulatory pressure that followed.

Chen said she is leading the renewed push and wants Bitget to establish a U.S.-based entity before offering services to American customers. The company plans to seek money-transmitter, derivatives and broker-dealer approvals before launching any services in the country.

Tokenized traditional assets are also becoming a larger part of Bitget’s strategy, with the company exploring collaboration with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq as stock-related products move onto blockchain-based systems.

Bitget returns to U.S. expansion plans

Bitget considered creating a U.S. business in 2022, but later abandoned the plan as enforcement actions and regulatory disputes grew across the crypto industry. Chen said the company has now decided to pursue entry again.

“With or without the Clarity Act, Bitget has already made a decision to enter the U.S. market,” she said.

The planned launch remains subject to regulatory approvals. Chen said Bitget wants the necessary licenses in place before it rolls out services. The exchange intends to operate through an independent U.S.-based entity, keeping the planned American business separate from its offshore platform.

That structure matters because U.S. crypto access is governed by overlapping state and federal requirements rather than a single exchange license. Money-transmitter approvals are generally handled at the state level, while broker-dealer activity and derivatives products can involve federal securities and commodities regulators and self-regulatory organizations.

That approach is consistent with Bitget’s broader effort to obtain local approvals in markets where it operates. Bitget EU submitted a MiCAR application to Austria’s Financial Market Authority in June. The company has also expanded through registrations in markets including Argentina, while keeping restricted jurisdictions separate from its growth plans.

Tokenized stocks form part of the U.S. strategy

Bitget’s U.S. plans go beyond standard crypto trading. Chen said the company has held discussions with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq about distributing tokenized traditional assets. She described the exchanges as collaborators as financial platforms bring stocks onto blockchain-based systems.

The discussions come as tokenized equities account for a growing share of Bitget’s business. Chen said traditional assets represented between 20% and 30% of the exchange’s spot trading volume in the previous quarter. She also said 52% of users now hold both crypto and stocks, while Bitget’s tokenized-stock products have accumulated more than $100 million in assets.

As crypto.news reported on July 16, Bitget recently added more than 100 tokenized U.S. stocks to a unified margin system alongside over 370 eligible assets. Its Reality platform offers 1:1-backed tokenized equities and ETFs, while selected products can also be used as trading collateral.

A U.S. launch, however, may require a different structure from products offered in other jurisdictions. Securities rules, broker-dealer requirements and derivatives oversight could determine which services Bitget is able to provide and how customers access them. Because tokenized stocks reference traditional securities, their distribution can raise compliance questions even when settlement or account systems use blockchain infrastructure. Chen said the company wants those approvals resolved before entering the market.

CLARITY Act uncertainty will not determine entry

Chen said the CLARITY Act could make the regulatory environment clearer, but she has become less confident that Congress will pass the bill before the midterm elections. The legislation is intended to establish a federal framework for digital assets and divide oversight responsibilities among agencies including the SEC and CFTC.

The bill gained momentum this week after the White House accepted proposed ethics restrictions aimed at resolving one dispute that had delayed negotiations. However, as crypto.news reported, the Senate still needs enough Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold, and revised legislative text had not been publicly released as of July 22.

The House passed an earlier version of the CLARITY Act, but the Senate must approve its own version before the legislation can move toward final passage. Any differences between the House and Senate versions would then have to be reconciled. Chen said those uncertainties will not decide whether Bitget enters the U.S., although clearer federal rules could simplify parts of the licensing process.

Bitget’s position comes as the exchange adjusts access and licensing across other jurisdictions. On July 22, it confirmed that it is not licensed or supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and that Singapore remains a restricted market. Bitget said it does not target residents there while continuing regulatory work elsewhere.

Its MiCAR application in Austria remains under review. The company has also expanded its regulated footprint in other markets, including Argentina. The U.S. plan follows the same stated approach: establish a local structure, obtain the required approvals and only then launch services.

Bitget has not announced a U.S. launch date. Chen’s comments indicate that the company has moved beyond considering U.S. entry and is now preparing for the licensing process. The CLARITY Act could change parts of the federal framework if Congress passes it, but Bitget’s expansion plan no longer depends on that outcome.