The Blockchain Association announced that CEO Summer Mersinger will step down, with the group's former longtime leader Kristin Smith returning to serve as interim CEO effective October 16.
The leadership change comes just days after the cryptocurrency industry suffered a significant legislative setback when the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to advance in the U.S. Senate. All Senate Democrats and some Republican senators declined to support the bill.
Smith served as the Blockchain Association's original CEO from its launch in 2018 until 15 months ago, when she left to become president of the Solana Policy Institute. She retained her position on the BA board and will continue to hold the SPI role while serving as interim chief, a spokesman confirmed.
Mersinger, who previously served as a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, took the helm shortly before the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act — known as the GENIUS Act — became the first major U.S. crypto law. She oversaw the association through what she called "the most consequential moment in the history of crypto policy," including a period of unprecedented regulatory activity at both the SEC and her former employer, the CFTC.
"I'm proud of how far we've come together, from the GENIUS Act to real regulatory clarity at the SEC and CFTC," Mersinger said in a statement. "Kristin built this association from the ground up, and BA is in good hands. I'll be cheering them on."
The transition closes what the association described as a tumultuous era — one that produced notable wins for the industry in Washington before the recent defeat of the Clarity Act.
