Blockchain Association


Videos

Crypto Lobbyists Ask SEC for Info on Prometheum

Blockchain Association has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking records relevant to crypto broker Prometheum. This comes after Prometheum co-CEO and founder Aaron Kaplan spoke before the House Financial Services Committee broadly in support of the SEC’s positions on crypto regulation. Blockchain Association Director of Government Relations Ron Hammond discusses why the group wants to look further into Prometheum.

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Videos

Blockchain Association Asking SEC for Information on Prometheum

Ron Hammond, Blockchain Association's director of government relations, joins "First Mover" to discuss why the trade group had filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the SEC seeking records relevant to Prometheum, a crypto broker. Hammond said that "there's a lot of suspect questions" and "suspicious timing" connected to the company's recent regulatory approval.

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Videos

Blockchain Association CEO on Filing Amicus Brief in Coin Center Lawsuit Over Tornado Cash Sanctions

The Blockchain Association has filed an amicus brief in an ongoing lawsuit by the think tank Coin Center against the Treasury Department and its sanctions watchdog, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). In the suit, filed last October, Coin Center has alleged that OFAC's sweeping sanctions against crypto mixer Tornado Cash harmed Americans and their ability to transact privately using the Ethereum network. Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith discusses the move and the state of U.S. crypto regulation. "OFAC can use more targeted sanctions against specific persons... [and] wallets, without sacrificing an entire class of technology," Smith said.

Recent Videos

Policy

Blockchain Association Files Amicus Brief in Coin Center Lawsuit Against U.S. Treasury Over Tornado Cash Sanctions

In a statement, the trade group’s CEO Kristin Smith, said that regulatory actions should only target bad actors and not punish the crypto mixing tool.

Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith is leaving the group to join a new Solana organization. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Policy

Blockchain Association Leaves New York as Federal Regulatory Fight Looms

The advocacy group will refocus its efforts on petitioning regulators and officials in Washington, D.C. 

U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C.(Andy Feliciotti/Unsplash)

Opinion

The Case for Regulating, Not Banning, Crypto

Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith looks at the logical flaws and assuptions made in a recent Foreign Affairs article calling to ban crypto.

The Blockchain Association's Kristin Smith (Melody Wang/CoinDesk)

Consensus Magazine

Kristin Smith Sees 'Bright' Outlook for U.S. Crypto Policy

The Blockchain Association CEO discusses the current regulatory moment, the rules crypto needs and life as a lobbyist on the Hill.

Kristin Smith(Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Opinion

How OFAC’s Tornado Cash Sanctions Violate U.S. Citizens’ Constitutional Rights

In filing a “friend of the court” brief, the Blockchain Association argues that financial privacy is fundamental – even in the digital realm.

A illustrative example of a Tornado. (NOAA)

Videos

Circle, BlockFi Are Questioned by Lawmakers About Why They Banked at SVB

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) want to know why crypto companies, including bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and stablecoin issuer Circle, banked at now-collapsed Silicon Valley Bank. Blockchain Association director of government relations Ron Hammond discusses the difference between Coinbase, Binance and Circle's engagements with lawmakers in DC. "The issue that we have in DC is that no matter the approach you take, it seems like you're still going to be at the end of a Wells notice of enforcement action," Hammond said.

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Videos

CFTC Chair Behnam Says Binance Deliberately Dodged Rules: Bloomberg

Bloomberg reports that Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam accused crypto exchange Binance of intentionally breaking regulatory rules during an event hosted by Princeton University on Thursday. Separately, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler is expected to testify before Congress next week. Ron Hammond, Director Of Government Relations at Blockchain Association, discusses the latest on crypto regulation.

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