1/ I'm excited to announce my new role as Head of Policy for @BlockchainAssn, the crypto industry's premier trade group in DC.

My sole focus will be crafting & advancing good crypto policy in the USA & abroad. This is our main challenge now. I'm all in.

Why BA & what's next 👇
2/ Crypto took the world by storm in 2021.

Bitcoin is legal tender. DeFi is a nine-figure sector. NFTs are on every magazine cover. Web3 has tech giants struggling to keep up.

At this point, it's impossible to deny crypto's geopolitical, macroeconomic, & cultural significance.
3/ As always, success brings attention, & lately the crypto industry has gotten more than its fair share of attention from regulators & policymakers.

In general, that's good & healthy: it shows government recognition that crypto is here to stay & must be taken seriously.

But...
4/ ...like many disruptive technologies, crypto presents a major challenge to the status quo.

Many of the legal & regulatory frameworks governing legacy institutions aren't a good fit for the new digital world we're building.

Yet, public policy has been painfully slow to adapt.
5/ It's time for us to take charge of this debate, & @BlockchainAssn is leading the way as the unified voice for the crypto industry.

BA's membership includes top companies from every corner of industry, an unparalleled chief in @KMSmithDC, & a highly skilled & passionate staff.
6/ Over the last few years, I've had the pleasure of working with BA on many policy issues in my role as @compoundfinance GC.

So when Kristin & I began discussing this job—building out & running the industry's legal & policy function in DC—I had zero doubt. This is why I'm here.
7/ I'm genuinely fired up about focusing my time & energy on this mission.

In case you don't know, I'm a true believer in Bitcoin & the entire crypto movement. I spent a long time diving deep on DeFi, but now I'm excited to broaden my scope & represent the entire industry in DC.
8/ I'm also thrilled to be joining BA alongside @dfgrimaldi, our new Head of Government Relations.

Dave is a DC veteran with a record of excellence & a passion for crypto, & he knows how to get things done. The crypto lobby is leveling up:
9/ So, now what?

I won't lie: we've got our work cut out for us. We have some big problems to triage (like the infrastructure bill), some new challenges to defend against, & many many policymakers to educate.

It's also time for us to go on offense. More on that soon, I promise.
10/ Finally, as part of representing the industry in DC, I also hope to represent *you*—the users, the builders, the folks who care deeply about how this all unfolds.

Our community is our strength. We have to do this together. It's the only way.

(But I'm still not your lawyer.)
11/ As I've said, I think the next few years will be the most important in the history of crypto policy, either before or after.

It's my honor & privilege to advance our shared vision of the future via @BlockchainAssn.

You'll hear from me, & I expect to hear from you. ✊

[end]

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More from @jchervinsky

4 Nov
Here's the truth: we've dodged most of the regulatory fire so far, but things will likely get worse before they get better.

To the extent I seem overly optimistic, that's a strategic choice. It's the best way to be effective, & when I *do* need to sound the alarm, you'll listen.
But when I say "we will prevail," as I often do in the course of explaining some enforcement action or proposed legislation or whatever, I mean it.

It won't be easy, there'll be hard days, & I don't know exactly what path we'll take to get through. But we will.

It's inevitable.
One of our huge advantages is our ability to coordinate online. We're digitally native: this makes us fast, broad, & effective in a way few other movements have been.

It's the same reason Bitcoin took off in the first place; the same reason everything we're doing has momentum.
Read 7 tweets
4 Nov
1/ The infrastructure bill is heading for a vote in the House.

Yes, the crypto provisions are just as bad as they were months ago. Yes, the impact of Section 6050I has been underexplored.

No, you don't need to call your reps. The political reality is: it's out of our hands now.
2/ Importantly, nothing will happen right away.

The crypto provisions don't go into effect until 2024 (for FY2023 reporting). We can try to get them repealed or amended before then.

They also need rulemaking from Treasury to define their scope. We'll be active in that process.
3/ I'm as disappointed as anyone, but strategically, it's crucial we understand when to fight & when to keep our powder dry.

We made a big impact in DC during the Senate vote. That was our shot & we made it count. The broader politics have taken over now:
Read 6 tweets
1 Nov
We'll have plenty of time to pick apart the new stablecoin report.

For now, the highlight in my mind is the recommendation that "Congress act promptly to enact legislation...."

Prompt action from this Congress on *anything* is unlikely, let alone on something like stablecoins.
In the meantime, the report seems to acknowledge that federal agencies lack the authority necessary to implement its many & varied recommendations.

The report tells FSOC to "consider steps available to it" -- "in the absence of Congressional action, which is urgently needed...."
Long story short, it sounds like nothing big will (or can) happen any time soon.

That's a good thing in my view, since the report clearly gets a lot of stuff wrong. It will (& should) take time to sort through what makes sense & what doesn't.

We'll get there. For now, carry on.
Read 4 tweets
30 Oct
If you think the metaverse comes packaged in a set of VR goggles or branded with a Web2 corporate logo, you don't understand the metaverse.
I suspect the reason most people don't understand the metaverse, including all the trad tech journos who've spilled tons of ink on it this week, is because they haven't experienced it yet.

"Unfortunately no one can be told what the metaverse is. You have to see it for yourself."
Ready Player One was a useful analogy for the metaverse before it got off the ground, but does more harm than good now.

It makes people think the metaverse is just people sitting at home with VR headsets on, talking to their parents as a living room hologram. 🙄

VR != metaverse
Read 4 tweets
28 Oct
FATF published its updated crypto AML guidance today. It's marginally better than the March draft.

As often happens, industry explained why the draft made no sense, & FATF's reaction was just to make it more vague. No answers here. The saga continues.

🧵 of threads & writeups:
From @coincenter's @valkenburgh, explaining the good, bad, & ugly of the updated guidance & why it's "far too vague and verbose to actually create reasonably clear and narrow limits for surveillance obligations."
From @fund_defi's @millercwl, who you're probably not following yet but definitely should be, if you care at all about DeFi. Miller nails how the guidance could (but won't necessarily) impact DeFi protocols.
Read 7 tweets
1 Oct
1/ Some personal news: after 2.5 amazing years, yesterday was my last day at @compoundfinance ❤️

It's been a genuine honor helping @rleshner, @justHGH, & the Compound Labs team build the future of finance 🤖

I'm taking October off, then starting a new challenge (stay tuned) 🧵
2/ I joined Compound in May 2019 in the depths of crypto winter. BTC was around $6k & ETH was around $200.

The Compound v2 protocol was one month old. TVL was about $10m. Only a handful of DeFi projects existed & they weren't even called DeFi yet.

What an incredible journey 🤯
3/ I worked on some big projects over the years, like decentralizing the Compound protocol & launching Compound Treasury.

It's been fascinating to see the community take charge of decentralized governance, & it's been fulfilling to create a novel financial product on DeFi rails.
Read 6 tweets

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