Kristin Smith Moves from The Blockchain Association to the Solana Policy Institute

Kristin Smith moves from The Blockchain Association to the Solana Policy Institute, a newly formed non-partisan, non-profit organization

"After an incredible journey as CEO of Blockchain Association, I’m stepping down from my role as CEO on May 16.

Leading this organization, working alongside brilliant colleagues, members, and friends, and advocating for an industry that I believe is shaping the future has been an

enormous privilege.

We’ve achieved a lot together. We played a key role in securing the passage of bipartisan legislation to provide clarity on digital assets, including crypto, and to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins. We also advocated for policies that promote responsible innovation and protect consumers.

I’m particularly proud of the work we did to educate policymakers and the public about blockchain technology and its potential to transform our economy and society. We organized countless events, meetings, and briefings, and I’m grateful to everyone who participated in these efforts.

I’m also proud of the work we did to build a strong and united voice for the industry. We brought together a diverse range of members, from large corporations to startups, and we worked tirelessly to speak with one voice on the issues that matter most.

I’m confident that Blockchain Association will continue to thrive under the leadership of its members and board of directors. I’m excited to see what the future holds for this organization and for the crypto industry as a whole.

P.S. I’m also joining the Solana Policy Institute as a founding board member and will be helping to launch a non-partisan, non-profit organization to accelerate the development of broad crypto policies ranging from stablecoins to market structure and industry initiatives.

We’re hiring! Apply today: https://bit.ly/3Hb8Z8c"

It seems that Kristin Smith, the CEO of The Blockchain Association, has decided to move on to a newly-announced non-partisan, non-profit organization called the Solana Policy Institute, as reported by Benzinga.

Those who follow the crypto industry closely will surely know Smith, who is also a former White House official and has experience in both the Bush and Obama administrations. Having worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies as a research fellow in the Global Development program, Smith is also a graduate of both Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

So, with such experience attached to The Blockchain Association for over 7 years – a lot of work has been done to develop many initiatives and strategies that can be effective for the government and beneficial to the crypto industry.

However, while the work to continue developing this doesn’t end for The Blockchain Association – Smith has decided to put her efforts into the recently launched Solana Policy Institute. This is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that aims to accelerate the development of crypto policies that are as broad as possible regarding everything from stablecoins to market structure.

Because key regulators already have a much better understanding of Bitcoin and are more prepared to regulate it effectively – the rapid and diverse development of DeFi and the Solana ecosystem, in particular, remains underdeveloped and requires similar, if not much more extensive efforts.

The Blockchain Association has confirmed the departure, and Smith did a post in their X that pretty comprehensively and positively summarizes previous experiences and upcoming initiatives.