This week, I entered my role as CEO of the Blockchain Association to what can be the most consecutive moment in the history of the elaboration of crypto policies. After years of regulatory uncertainty and punishing the application, we have a generational opportunity to establish clear and friendly rules that will govern digital assets for the next decade and beyond.
The convergence of factors creating this window is unusual. We have a pro -Crypto administration, a bipartite momentum at Congress around the complete legislation of the stablescoin and the structure of the market, and recent victories – such as the end of the dealer’s rule – which validate the positions that this industry has occupied for years. Institutional adoption continues to grow, creating an urgent request for regulatory clarity of inherited financial institutions.
But windows of opportunity in Washington close as quickly as they open. And if we grasp this moment or look at it will escape largely the capacity of the cryptography ecosystem to speak with a single clear voice.
Read more: the CFTC commissioner, Mersinger, will be CEO of the Blockchain Association
I spent more than three years as a CFTC commissioner to look at how politics is really implemented at the agency level. When regulators see a fractured industry bring competing programs to advance, they lack restrictive approaches that do not meet anyone. But when they encounter sophisticated and unified positions on complex questions, I found that these same regulators are constructive. The difference between these results is not only academic, it shapes the markets, determines which innovations survive and decides where the world leadership of emerging technologies resides.
This dynamic explains why the blockchain association exists and why our work has never been so critical. Consider what we have accomplished when we acted in concert. Our principles of structure of the consensual market, developed by the in -depth collaboration of members, provide a plan for legislation which protects innovation while ensuring consumer protection. And our opposition unified to exceed regulatory proposals, as for the concessionaire and the broker’s regulatory sagas, helped the courts to recognize when the agencies exceeded their authority.
These successes did not occur by accident. They emerged from our desire to prioritize collective progress in relation to individual positioning and to recognize that the regulatory challenges faced by this industry are more important than any company or protocol.
Now we will face our biggest test to date. As political momentum is strengthened and the issues increase, the temptation to fragment will intensify. Organizations will be tempted to pursue close advantages. Well -intentioned defenders will push maximalist positions which seem attractive but do not have the pragmatic land necessary to become the law.
We cannot afford this luxury. The opponents of the cryptography industry are counting on us to struggle as the finish line approaches. They know that a divided industry could lose focusing, could dissolve in an endless debate. And they think they saw this film before where we get closer to political success before everything collapses in a pile of smoking.
This is precisely why my experience as a regulator counts for this role. I saw how agencies react to the clear and constructive commitment of the industry. I understand the difference between the positions that sound well in the presentations of the conference and those which can actually survive the legislative process. More importantly, I know that the relations and credibility required to win sustainable policy victories are built by consistency, reliability and demonstrated commitment to the public interest.
The opportunity we have at the moment forces us to be ambitious on our objectives and to discipline our approach. We need complete legislation which gives regulatory clarity to digital assets; This has been obvious for years. We need agencies that include the technology they regulate and encourage these regulators when they show progress. We need international coordination that guarantees that American innovation is not handicapped by jurisdictional arbitration. And we must maintain consumer protections and financial stability guarantees that make sustainable growth possible.
These are not competing priorities. These are complementary elements of a coherent vision for American leadership in digital assets.
While I assume this responsibility, I undertook to ensure that the Blockchain association recommends its founding objective. This means hosting the difficult conversations necessary to build a real consensus. This means raising our shared priorities on our individual preferences. And that means approaching our work with the seriousness and the sophistication that this moment requires.
The cryptography industry graduated from its startup phase. We no longer ask for permission to exist, we negotiate the terms of the regulations which will allow this technology to further overcome its growth. This evolution requires not only technological maturity, but also political maturity. The next 18 months will test if we have developed this maturity. The issues could not be higher, but either.
Let’s grab it – together.
