When we founded Blockchain Association five years ago it was an open question whether or not the digital assets industry could make effective use of a trade association to argue its priorities in front of Congress and other federal regulatory agencies.
Kristin Smith is the CEO of the Blockchain Association.
Some of the most persistent questions in Washington D.C. at the time were whether crypto would still be around in a few years, rather than asking complex questions about market structure, taxing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or if code is protected by the U.S. Constitution. While those issues are still up for debate, it’s clear that crypto’s staying power is not.
As Blockchain Association marks five years since its founding, it’s worth pausing to reflect on the past half-decade and look forward to the challenges that will likely define the industry’s success in arguing its case in U.S. capitol in the years to come.
From President Donald Trump’s anti-Bitcoin tweets, to meteoric market gains in and sobering losses, to the collapse of the Terra blockchain and then FTX – all overseen by an increasingly hostile Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that seems dedicated to pushing the American crypto economy offshore – the digital assets industry experienced major moments of disruption over the past several years.
See also: Crypto Exchange Binance Goes to Court Against the SEC
Nevertheless, even amidst these dramatic moments, crypto adoption continues to grow. Multiple presidential campaigns have felt compelled to issue statements of support for the domestic digital assets industry. And even though the resultant reports are less-than-kind to crypto, it remains notable that the Biden administration felt the digital assets ecosystem was important enough to issue an executive order directing federal attention to study the technology and recommend responsible regulation.
What, then, will the next half-decade hold for crypto in Washington? It seems foolish to make any sound predictions given the cinematic ups and downs of the past five years, but there are several areas where the Congress, the White House and federal regulatory agencies will likely focus.
Money laundering pain points
The first, and perhaps biggest, long term issue relates to anti-money laundering (AML) efforts….
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