Lawmakers, Regulators, Industry Leaders Convene and Chart Future of the Crypto Ecosystem
Washington, D.C. (Nov. 30, 2023) – Blockchain Association concluded its second annual member-only Policy Summit, convening Congressional leaders, federal and state regulators, federal law enforcement agencies, and international luminaries to discuss the current and future state of the digital asset economy.
Over a two day conference, a distinguished group of policymakers, elected representatives, and Blockchain Association members discussed crypto policy, major Constitutional questions related to digital assets and the Fourth Amendment, geopolitics and humanitarian aid, and the misunderstandings surrounding illicit finance in the industry.
A selection of highlights from the summit:
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo provided the Treasury Department’s view on the role that crypto companies must play in curtailing the facilitation of illicit finance through digital assets. While he reiterated familiar warnings that crypto companies must do more, he took pains to note that Treasury’s recommendations shouldn’t be viewed as “targeting a technology.”
Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) spoke at the Summit’s gala dinner and was presented with a Blockchain Association award recognizing his longstanding commitment to the crypto industry and American innovation.
Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith gave a keynote address, highlighting the industry’s work in building a robust advocacy apparatus over the past five years. She highlighted that the digital asset industry now has all the constituent parts that it needs to deliver long lasting policy and regulatory success.
NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris spoke on the important role that her agency has played in better operationalizing the BitLicense, noting that while the license’s standards remain rigorous, getting approval in an important state such as New York has real benefits for regulatory approval in other jurisdictions.
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) provided his view on the importance of robust disclosure and compliance procedures for crypto in conversation with former acting director of FinCEN Michael Mosier.
Representatives Jim Himes (D-CT) and French Hill (R-AR) discussed the state of crypto regulatory legislation in the House of Representatives, expanding on the sources of collaboration between Democrats and Republicans, and what must be done to ensure crypto legislation can pass both houses of Congress.
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) talked through their work designing comprehensive crypto legislation, their efforts to collaborate with the Treasury Department on technical details of their bills, and working with House members to find common ground to produce language that could pass both the House and Senate.
Complete roster of summit speakers:
- Wally Adeyemo, U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Stu Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer, Ripple
- Marvin Ammori, Chief Legal Officer, Uniswap Labs
- Paul Balzano, Senior Professional Staff – House Committee on Agriculture
- Allison Behuniak, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, House Committee on Financial Services
- Marta Belcher, President & Chair – Filecoin Foundation / Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web
- Oleksandr “Alex” Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
- Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL)
- Paul D. Clement, Partner, Clement Murphy; 43rd Solicitor General of the United States (2005-2008)
- Christos Efthymiopoulos, Assistant Director, Supervision (FinTech), The Bermuda Monetary Authority
- Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), Majority Whip
- Adrienne A. Harris, New York Department of Financial Services
- Seth Hertlein, Global Head of Policy, Ledger; BA Board Member
- Rep. French Hill (R-AR) Chairman, Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, House Committee on Financial Services
- Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Bill Hughes, Senior Counsel and Director of Global Regulatory Affairs, ConsenSys
- Candace Kelly, Chief Legal Officer, Stellar Development Foundation
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Rob Grant, VP, Global Policy, Ripple
- Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer, Coinbase
- Kristin Johnson, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- TuongVy Le, Partner and Head of Regulatory and Policy, Bain Capital Crypto
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Chairman, House Financial Services Committee
- Cleve Mesidor, Executive Director, Blockchain Foundation
- Taylor Monahan, Lead Product Manager, MetaMask
- Michael Mosier, Former Acting Director, FinCEN
- Dritan Nesho, CEO, HarrisX; Co-Director, Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll
- Michael Nydegger, Global Head of Tax, Kraken
- Kevin O’Connor, Section Chief – Virtual Assets and Emerging Technology, FinCEN, U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Jessica Peck, Attorney, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), U.S. Department of Justice
- Hester Peirce, Securities and Exchange Commission
- Georgia Quinn, General Counsel, Anchorage Digital
- Joshua Rivera, Operating Partner & General Counsel, Blockchain Capital
- Craig Salm, Chief Legal Officer, Grayscale
- Marco Santori, Chief Legal Officer, Kraken
- Kristin Smith, CEO Blockchain Association
- Jason Somensatto, Head of North America Public Policy, Chainalysis
- Julie Stitzel, VP, Public Policy, DCG
- Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY)
- Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer, DeFi Education Fund
- Vera Tzoneva, COO, CoinTracker
- Peter van Valkenburgh, Research Director, Coin Center
- Christopher Wong, Special Agent, FBI
- Lawrence Zlatkin, Vice President, Tax, Coinbase
About Blockchain Association:
Blockchain Association is the collective voice of the cryptocurrency industry. Our members include the sector’s leading investors, companies, and projects, working together to support a future-forward, pro-innovation national policy and regulatory framework for the crypto economy. Find us at theblockchainassociation.org. Follow us @BlockchainAssn.
