Kristin Smith, the longtime chief govt of the Blockchain Association, a number one lobbying group for crypto coverage in Washington, is leaving subsequent month to take a task as president of the brand new Solana Coverage Institute, in keeping with a Tuesday announcement.
“I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together and confident that the organization’s future is bright,” Smith mentioned in an announcement.
Earlier this week, Miller Whitehouse-Levine based the group and introduced his place as CEO shortly after stepping down from the Defi Training Fund.
Although the group hasn’t but clarified its supply of funding, its web site mentioned it’ll focus its message on “how decentralized networks like Solana are the future of the digital economy.”
Smith has led the Blockchain Association for nearly seven years — a dramatic interval for the creating business. Since late final 12 months, the political grounds have solidified underneath the sector’s toes because it finds allies working all ranges of the U.S. authorities, the place crypto advocates have lengthy been making an attempt to get a complete set of rules.
The Blockchain Association has been a central participant within the business’s lobbying.
The group mentioned its board is now conducting a search to interchange Smith.
Whitehouse-Levin as soon as labored in that group’s coverage operations.
“Innovators deserve to have the clarity they need to build a frictionless, Internet-based global economy — a future we believe is achievable with the right laws, rules and frameworks,” he mentioned in an announcement throughout this week’s launch of the Solana group.
UPDATE (April 1, 2025, 19:09 UTC): Provides remark from Kristin Smith.
