The Blockchain Association Lobbying Group Forms In Washington, DC Backed By Multiple Funds And Exchanges

According to a report in the Washington Post, there is a new organization that is working to lobby the lawmakers in Washington, DC. The group is made up of exchanges, startups, and blockchain funds, and they hope to work on education and changes in regulations. They want to make the relationship between startups and lawmakers more seamless.

This group includes Coinbase, Circle, Digital Currency Group, Polychain Capital, and Protocol Labs, though there are other people who have founded the group. One of the first people employed by the team, which is calling itself the Blockchain Association, is Kristin Smith. Smith previously was an aide in the Senate, though she also worked as a blockchain lobbyist for Overstock.com.

Speaking with the Post, she said,

“I've been spending a lot of time doing a lot of the basic education work in this space … I'm excited to focus exclusively on these issues.”

The advisors to the group are Marvin Ammori of Protocol Labs and Josh Mendelsohn of Hangar. In a statement from the chief legal and risk officer of Coinbase, Mike Lempres, the group collectively agreed that collaboration would help with regulations.

Lempres said,

“The Blockchain Association is an effort to get the preeminent companies in the space together so [policymakers] know they're hearing from companies that welcome regulation when it's appropriate … We're not companies looking to game the system but trying to develop a legal and regulatory system that'll stand the test of time.”

Tax law, along with protocols like Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML), will be the prime focus of the Blockchain Association, and specifically how they correspond with exchanges. As the company grows and progresses, they may add other efforts, but these goals are the short-term projects that they have going on.

The executive director of coin Center, Jerry Brito, said, “It's good to have more voices advocating for things we agree about,” in reference to crypto.