Blockchain Association
Non profit organizations promoting blockchain applications
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Blockchain Association the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a pro-innovation policy environment for the digital asset economy. They work with their members to educate policymakers about blockchain technology and its ability to pave the way for a more secure, competitive, and consumer-friendly digital marketplace.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stepped down today, calling before her departure for the establishment of a regulatory framework for privacy technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs.
According to a CoinDesk commentary piece, U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce concludes her tenure today, having served since 2018. Article author and Blockchain Association Policy Assistant Will Schwartz reviews Peirce's work in digital asset regulation, focusing on her advocacy for financial privacy regulation ahead of her departure. Peirce previously noted at the SIFMA Digital Assets Conference that current financial oversight has long depended on the mass collection and storage of user personal data, while privacy-enhancing technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and verifiable credentials allow users to demonstrate transaction compliance with minimal personal disclosure. She argues that the industry currently lacks a regulatory framework that would permit and incentivize the deployment of these technologies. Schwartz calls for future regulatory regimes to increasingly integrate privacy-enhancing technologies, thereby curbing unnecessary consumer data exposure while still fulfilling law enforcement and compliance mandates.
Blockchain Association Launches Vaults Workflow, Uniting Dozens of Member Institutions to Drive Policy Formulation
According to a post by the Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn), the Blockchain Association has officially launched the Vaults Workstream, bringing together dozens of leading member organizations including a16z Crypto, Aave, Uniswap, Grayscale, dYdX Foundation, Ethena, Morpho, and Multicoin to participate in Washington-based policy discussions on on-chain finance. As an emerging component of on-chain finance infrastructure, Vaults can provide users with diverse asset exposure, support composable and personalized investment strategies, and offer high flexibility in manual control, governance, and risk management. Members of this workstream will engage directly with the SEC to assist legislators in understanding Vault mechanics and the applicability of existing regulatory frameworks, with the goal of aligning regulatory rules with technological development to ensure the United States maintains its leading position in on-chain financial innovation.
Blockchain Association CEO Mersinger to Step Down
Former CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger will step down as CEO of the Blockchain Association on October 16, with Kristin Smith set to return to the role. Her departure comes as the association's core legislative bill faces setbacks on the congressional agenda.
Blockchain Association CEO Resigns, Kristin Smith to Serve as Interim
According to CoinDesk, the crypto lobbying group Blockchain Association announced that CEO Summer Mersinger is stepping down, with original founder Kristin Smith assuming the role of interim leader, and the transition to be completed on October 16. This leadership change comes shortly after the industry's Digital Asset Market Clarity Act was rejected by the Senate.
Crypto industry lobbying group asks court to halt Illinois digital assets tax
According to CoinDesk, the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) and the Blockchain Association filed a motion for a preliminary injunction with an Illinois court on Wednesday, seeking to halt the state's Digital Assets Tax Act before its effective date of January 1, 2027. The tax act was passed on the final day of this year's legislative session, imposing a 0.2% rate on entities headquartered in the state or providing services there with annual gross revenues exceeding $100,000. Both organizations previously sued the bill alongside the Digital Chamber last month, alleging it violates the principle of federal preemption. The filing states that member enterprises have already suffered "irreparable harm" due to the necessity of building compliance systems. CCI CEO Ji Hun Kim stated that businesses are required to spend millions of dollars developing systems for a tax that is unconstitutional and unclear in both scope and timing; Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger stated that since the state cannot collect the relevant taxes during the litigation, "[t]he loss to the state government from waiting is minimal, while the loss to all parties if they continue to proceed would be significant."
Blockchain Association and CCI File for Injunction to Halt Illinois' 0.2% Digital Asset Transaction Tax
Odaily News – The Blockchain Association and the Innovative Crypto Council (CCI) have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction with the Circuit Court of Sangamon County, Illinois, seeking to halt the 0.2% digital asset franchise transaction tax scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, during the pendency of litigation. The tax applies to crypto entities established in Illinois or providing services to Illinois residents with annual gross revenues exceeding $100,000. The two lobbying groups had previously sued Illinois over the measure and, together with the Chamber of Digital Commerce, argue that the law violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act as well as the Due Process and Interstate Commerce clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
Blockchain Association Launches Vaults Workflow, Uniting Dozens of Member Institutions to Drive Policy Formulation
According to a post by the Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn), the Blockchain Association has officially launched the Vaults Workstream, bringing together dozens of leading member organizations including a16z Crypto, Aave, Uniswap, Grayscale, dYdX Foundation, Ethena, Morpho, and Multicoin to participate in Washington-based policy discussions on on-chain finance. As an emerging component of on-chain finance infrastructure, Vaults can provide users with diverse asset exposure, support composable and personalized investment strategies, and offer high flexibility in manual control, governance, and risk management. Members of this workstream will engage directly with the SEC to assist legislators in understanding Vault mechanics and the applicability of existing regulatory frameworks, with the goal of aligning regulatory rules with technological development to ensure the United States maintains its leading position in on-chain financial innovation.
Blockchain Association Supports GENIUS Act Implementing Rules for Stablecoin Issuers, Advocates Narrowing Customer Identification Scope
According to The Block, the Blockchain Association has submitted comments on the stablecoin issuer rules under the GENIUS Act, proposed jointly by U.S. Treasury agencies including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Reserve. The association supports limiting Customer Identification Program (CIP) obligations to direct customer transactions in the primary market, emphasizing that they should not extend to peer-to-peer transfers in the secondary market. It also calls on regulators to further clarify the definitions of "account," "customer," and "digital asset service provider," exempt one-time redemptions and other non-recurring activities, and avoid duplicative compliance burdens alongside anti-money laundering regulations. The association stated that the implementation of the rules must strike a balance between ensuring stablecoin security, maintaining operational feasibility, and preserving room for industry innovation.
The Blockchain Association Supports U.S. SEC Rescinding Certain Outdated NMS Rules
The Blockchain Association stated that it has submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, supporting its proposal to rescind Rule 611 and Rule 610(e) under Regulation National Market System. The association believes that the relevant rules were based on the 2005 market structure and are no longer able to adapt to the current faster, automated, and interconnected market environment.
Blockchain Association Supports Custodia v. Federal Reserve Case to Supreme Court
The Blockchain Association filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court supporting Custodia Bank's challenge to the Federal Reserve's decision to deny its master account application, with the dispute centering on whether the Federal Reserve has the authority to deny qualified state-chartered banks access to payment systems.
Blockchain Association Supports Custodia Bank's Application to Supreme Court for Federal Reserve Master Account Access
According to The Block, the Blockchain Association filed an amicus curiae brief on August 13 supporting Custodia Bank's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a review of the legality of the Federal Reserve Bank's refusal of its master account application. The Blockchain Association pointed out that this case concerns whether legitimate digital asset enterprises can compete in a fair environment, and warned that the lower court ruling provides a precedent for federal regulators "to debank unpopular industries in the future without the intervention of state regulators." Custodia Bank was founded by Wall Street veteran Caitlin Long, applied for a Fed master account in October 2020, was rejected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in January 2023 on the grounds that the crypto business model posed risks, subsequently lost twice in the district court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and was denied rehearing by the full court in a 7 to 3 vote in March 2026. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City must respond to the Supreme Court application by September 11.
Blockchain Association Refutes Wall Street Journal: Clarity Act Is Pro-Innovation Legislation Promoting Competition, Not A Regulatory Loophole
Mersinger pointed out that the bill explicitly prohibits the portion of stablecoin holding rewards equivalent to bank deposit interest, but allows reward mechanisms based on user activity, consistent with the credit card points model; regarding DeFi regulation, Section 10301 of the bill requires the SEC to establish rules for protocols that are "nominally decentralized, substantially controllable," rather than exempting them, while Section 10201 has incorporated digital commodity brokers into the full reporting obligations under the "Bank Secrecy Act" and allocated $3 billion to support state-level enforcement, contrary to the "Wall Street Journal"'s claim of "inadequate regulation of illicit finance."
Related news
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stepped down today, calling before her departure for the establishment of a regulatory framework for privacy technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs.
According to a CoinDesk commentary piece, U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce concludes her tenure today, having served since 2018. Article author and Blockchain Association Policy Assistant Will Schwartz reviews Peirce's work in digital asset regulation, focusing on her advocacy for financial privacy regulation ahead of her departure. Peirce previously noted at the SIFMA Digital Assets Conference that current financial oversight has long depended on the mass collection and storage of user personal data, while privacy-enhancing technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and verifiable credentials allow users to demonstrate transaction compliance with minimal personal disclosure. She argues that the industry currently lacks a regulatory framework that would permit and incentivize the deployment of these technologies. Schwartz calls for future regulatory regimes to increasingly integrate privacy-enhancing technologies, thereby curbing unnecessary consumer data exposure while still fulfilling law enforcement and compliance mandates.
Illinois Proposes Delaying 0.2% Crypto Tax by 6 Months to July 2027
Odaily News: Illinois state government officials and crypto industry representatives have reached an agreement to delay the implementation of the 0.2% crypto tax by 6 months to July 1, 2027, pending approval by a judge.The Digital Chamber and the Illinois Blockchain Association participated in the negotiations to allow court proceedings on related legal disputes to continue as the tax's implementation date approaches. (CoinDesk)
Blockchain Association Launches Vaults Workflow, Uniting Dozens of Member Institutions to Drive Policy Formulation
According to a post by the Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn), the Blockchain Association has officially launched the Vaults Workstream, bringing together dozens of leading member organizations including a16z Crypto, Aave, Uniswap, Grayscale, dYdX Foundation, Ethena, Morpho, and Multicoin to participate in Washington-based policy discussions on on-chain finance. As an emerging component of on-chain finance infrastructure, Vaults can provide users with diverse asset exposure, support composable and personalized investment strategies, and offer high flexibility in manual control, governance, and risk management. Members of this workstream will engage directly with the SEC to assist legislators in understanding Vault mechanics and the applicability of existing regulatory frameworks, with the goal of aligning regulatory rules with technological development to ensure the United States maintains its leading position in on-chain financial innovation.
Blockchain Association CEO Mersinger to Step Down
Former CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger will step down as CEO of the Blockchain Association on October 16, with Kristin Smith set to return to the role. Her departure comes as the association's core legislative bill faces setbacks on the congressional agenda.
Blockchain Association CEO Resigns, Kristin Smith to Serve as Interim
According to CoinDesk, the crypto lobbying group Blockchain Association announced that CEO Summer Mersinger is stepping down, with original founder Kristin Smith assuming the role of interim leader, and the transition to be completed on October 16. This leadership change comes shortly after the industry's Digital Asset Market Clarity Act was rejected by the Senate.
Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger to Resign, Kristin Smith to Serve as Interim CEO
A Fox Business crypto reporter posted on X that Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger will resign. Kristin Smith, who previously served as the organization's CEO and currently serves as President of the Solana Institute, will return to serve as interim CEO.