A swirl of several hundred government relations executives and general counsels from crypto companies around the globe gathered at the Conrad Hotel this week for Blockchain Association’s first annual Policy Summit.
Even amidst the recent implosion of crypto exchange FTX, an agenda sprinkled with an impressive list of elected officials offered hope to a beleaguered audience that could be justified for wanting to update their LinkedIn profile in the past week.
In a panel titled, “Post Midterms Political Outlook: What’s On Deck for the Next Congress?,” Congressional staffers who drive policy discussion on Capitol Hill, provided a behind-the-scenes look at a range of blockchain-related issues facing Congress.
Participants reflected the bipartisan strategy of crypto policy in the House and Senate today with two Democratic and two Republican staffers – who stressed they spoke for themselves and not Members of Congress:
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- Francesco Castella, Senior Policy Advisor for Congressman Ted Budd (R, NC). Rep. Budd, a member of the House Financial Services Committee and the Blockchain Caucus, will be moving to the Senate in the next Congress. Mr. Castella appeared at DeFiCon (https://blockchaintipsheet.com/policy/us-house-staffers-blockchain-cryptocurrency/) in August in New York City.
- Rashan A. Colbert, Legislative Assistant for Senator Cory Booker (D, NJ). Sen. Booker, who sits on the Senate Agriculture committee, is co-sponsoring the Digital Commodity Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA). Mr. Colbert appeared in a CFTC financial inclusion webcast about blockchain technology in August.
- Emily German, Subcommittee Staff Director at U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, which has jurisdiction over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Ms. German serves the interests of Democrats on the House Ag Committee and its Chairman, Rep. David Scott (D, GA).
- Tim Hite, Financial Services Counsel for Congressman Warren Davidson (R, OH). Rep. Davidson has been an active Member when it comes to cryptocurrency legislation (such as the Digital Taxonomy Act and Token Taxonomy Act) which includes his participation in the House Financial Services Committee and the Blockchain Caucus.
Ron Hammond, Director of Government Relations at Blockchain Association and a former staffer for Rep. Davidson, moderated the discussion.
FTX fallout for this Congress
With FTX’s imploding looming over the conference, Hammond didn’t waste any time by asking staff members about the FTX elephant-in-the-room particularly as it related to DCCPA and where FTX and its founder/CEO Sam Bankman-Fried had taken an active, aggressive role in lobbying efforts.
Just prior to the panel, the House Financial Services Committee announced it would convene a hearing about FTX in December.
Continue reading “Staffers See Stablecoin Legislation And DCCPA in 2023”