Uniswap's Lindsay Fraser to Run Policy Shop at Blockchain Association

The Blockchain Association has hired Uniswap Labs' Lindsay Fraser to lead its policy operations as the crypto industry pushes for near-term action from the U.S. Congress on a bill to establish the regulatory playing field for digital assets markets.

Fraser, who worked on policy issues for Uniswap as the industry wrestled with how decentralized finance (DeFi) would be handled by the U.S. government, will take on a wider role for the 146 member companies at her new association, though she said her DeFi experience will help with that ongoing discussion. The group, which is among the leading organizations in a crowded field of industry advocates in Washington, will be closely focused on the market structure bill now being negotiated in the Senate, the implementation of the stablecoin law established earlier this year and the future of U.S. crypto tax policy, Fraser said in an interview.

"If I've done my job, the industry will be operating with a lot more certainty," she said. She wants policymakers to see BA as "a trusted partner and the voice on crypto policy," and that'll require a strong coalition "that's capable of sustaining progress, despite administration changes or any sort of market cycle."

The same day she starts work on Dec. 8, the Blockchain Association is hosting its annual policy summit in Washington, with speakers including Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The group — led by a former commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Summer Mersinger — has grown by 58 member companies this year, according to a spokesman.

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