- The Blockchain Association hired CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger as its new CEO.
- She will replace Kristin Smith, who left Friday for the Solana Policy Institute.
- “We have a very narrow window to get legislation through,” board member Belcher said.
When the Blockchain Association, a crypto lobbying powerhouse, set out to find its next CEO, it wanted to find someone with deep Washington ties and deep knowledge of the crypto industry.
And it wanted to do it fast.
“We have a very narrow window to get legislation through,” Blockchain Association board member Marta Belcher told DL News. “The midterms are next year. I think it’s very likely that our window closes at the midterms.”
Earlier this week, the organisation said it has hired Summer Mersinger, a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to replace Kristin Smith, who left Friday to join the Solana Policy Institute.
“Commissioner Mersinger brings exceptional leadership experience at the intersection of innovation, law, and public service, assuming the role at a critical moment for the industry,” the Blockchain Association said in a statement announcing her hire.
“With her track record of driving regulatory clarity and building coalitions across government and industry, she will spearhead efforts to advance forward-thinking legislation, foster industry growth, and defend the foundational principles of decentralised technology.”
Track record
Before joining the CFTC, Mersinger was a top aide to Senator John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota. Thune is now the Senate majority leader.
“It has been a privilege to work and serve at the CFTC in both the first and the current Trump Administrations, doing my part to assist in pursuing the President’s important policies,” Mersinger said in a statement announcing her departure.
The Blockchain Association is one of the largest crypto lobbying firms in DC, with almost 130 members, according to Belcher.
And it’s entering what could be the most pivotal moment for crypto legislation in the industry’s short history.
President Donald Trump has cast himself as a champion of crypto. After a flurry of executive orders, attention has turned to Congress, where Senators are negotiating major stablecoin legislation and the House debates a market structure bill that would create a framework for digital asset regulation.
Belcher called that legislation “existential” for crypto.
And getting it across the finish line will require coordination from the industry and its myriad players.
“It was important for us to have a permanent CEO as quickly as possible, and that was why we decided to move forward quickly in the search,” Belcher said.
Rather than hiring a search firm to find candidates, the Blockchain Association decided to handle the entire process itself.
“We felt like we needed someone who was in crypto and who understood the space,” Belcher said. “We had a rigorous but rapid process where we did those interviews.”
Belcher cited Mersinger’s dissent in the case of Ooki DAO as an example of the commissioner’s crypto bona fides.
Crypto values
The CFTC sued Ooki DAO in 2022, arguing it functioned as an unregistered platform for commodities trading and failed to implement required know-your-customer and anti-money laundering procedures.
The industry sprang to Ooki DAO’s defence, with venture capital firms Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz, lobbyist DeFi Education Fund, and an association of crypto attorneys called LeXpunK writing to the court in Ooki’s defence.
In 2023, a federal judge sided with the CFTC after Ooki DAO failed to defend itself in court.
In her dissent, Mersinger acknowledged Ooki may have violated the Commodities Exchange Act. But she took issue with the CFTC’s attempt to lay blame at every member of the cooperative — every person who held an Ooki DAO token and used it to vote on the project’s ongoing development.
“That’s one example which shows her alignment with the underlying values of crypto,” Belcher said.
Mersinger’s first day as CEO is June 2. Sarah Milby, the Blockchain Association’s head of policy, will serve as CEO in the interim.
“We’re at a pivotal moment for crypto policy, and I think Commissioner Mersinger is the right leader to take us forward from here,” Belcher said.
Aleks Gilbert is DL News’ New York-based DeFi correspondent. You can reach him at aleks@dlnews.com.
