Howdy. Ed here.

When it comes to crypto policymaking, there’s a lot of action unfolding across multiple fronts as summer unfolds. 

The Blockchain Association hired Summer Mersinger, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as the new CEO of the industry’s lobbying group. 

Mersinger, a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, will be taking the reins at a time when the crypto industry’s agenda is in flux on Capitol Hill. 

Earlier this month, Senate Republicans failed to muster the 60 votes needed to fast track the Genius Act, the landmark stablecoin bill, toward potential approval. 

It looks like Thune and the GOP are formulating a new strategy for passing the legislation. 

At the same time, the House of Representatives is weighing two bills — a stablecoin measure and market structure legislation. Those bills are expected to go to committee votes soon. 

On the legal front, the Roman Storm case is making headlines as the Tornado Cash dev’s criminal trial approaches in July. 

On Friday, Storm’s lawyers argued in a court motion that US prosecutors had withheld key communications with a federal agency that would help his defence, Kyle Baird reported. 

The case is important because it could establish a legal doctrine that the founders and devs at anonymising apps cannot be held responsible for bad actors who may use them to conceal illicit transactions. 

Crypto privacy advocates had hoped that the feds would drop charges against Storm after an appeals court ruled in a separate civil case that smart contracts cannot be covered by existing US national security law.

As a result, US officials removed Tornado Cash from its sanctions list. 

Prosecutors are moving ahead with Storm’s case, and the outcome is shaping up to be the most significant legal development in the short history of DeFi. 

Meanwhile, the drama surrounding President Donald Trump and his controversial memecoin is shaking up Washington. 

This Thursday, the president will host the top 220 holders of his memecoin at a gala event at one of his private golf clubs. Some of the top holders shared with Liam Kelly some insights into how and why they bought in — and what they might wear to the dinner.

The thing to watch, though, is how the spectacle of a commander-in-chief selling access through a memecoin plays out politically. 

Crypto policy mavens such as Mersinger would love to build bipartisan consensus around stablecoin legislation, and initiatives to come on taxes, regulatory jurisdiction, among others. 

Will Trump’s crypto actions jeopardise this?

ICYMI

• Democrats storm out of hearing on crypto bill over Trump ‘corruption’
  A rift over US crypto policy deepened last Tuesday as several Democratic lawmakers walked out of a joint hearing between the House Financial Services and Agriculture committees.

• UK crypto firms told to report every user and transaction or risk stiff penalties
  The United Kingdom is starting to make more room for crypto, but it wants receipts for every user, trade, and transfer.

• SEC hacker sentenced to 14 months for role in fake Bitcoin ETF post
  An Alabama man was sentenced last Friday to 14 months in prison for hacking the SEC’s X account and passing control to someone who used it to falsely claim the agency had approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Story of the Week

First they met as teen gamers, then they ran $263m Bitcoin racket, feds say

He called himself “King Greavys,” other times “Anne Hathaway,” or simply “$$$.”

Since 2023, Malone Lam, 20, was a member of a vast criminal enterprise that used hacking and burglary to steal $263 million in cryptocurrencies from its victims, according to a 42-page US grand jury indictment unsealed on May 15.

He and his crew, prosecutors said, led a life of gaudy luxury.

They spent $500,000 per evening on “nightclub services,” gave out designer handbags as party favours, and moved around in private jets and a fleet of 28 cars worth $100,000 to $3.8 million each.

Comment of the Week

Last week, Paul Atkins, the new chair of the SEC, hosted a series of roundtables on crypto policy and regulations. Straight away, things were different from the approach pursed by his predecessor, Gary Gensler. Gone were the directives to comply with existing law, and in were discussions on what comes next. Blockchain analyst Noelle Acheson was delighted with the new tone.

DL News is an independent news organisation that provides original, in-depth reporting on the largely misunderstood world of cryptocurrency and decentralised finance. From original stories to investigations, our journalism is accurate, honest and responsible.

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