Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith departs to join new Solana Policy Institute

Kristin Smith, the CEO of one of the biggest advocacy groups in Washington, is leaving for the newly created Solana Policy Institute.

Smith will leave The Blockchain Association and take on the role of president at the institute starting on May 19, according to a statement released by the association on Tuesday. The Blockchain Association has over 100 members, including Coinbase, Jito Labs and a16zcrypto.

"It has been an honor to serve as CEO of Blockchain Association and work alongside such a dedicated team and community,” Smith said in the statement. "I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together and confident that the organization’s future is bright."

The Solana Policy Institute, a non-partisan nonprofit, premiered to the world on Monday as digital assets are having a moment with lawmakers quickly working to pass legislation touching on everything from stablecoins to market structure. The institute is led by Miller Whitehouse-Levine, the former CEO of the DeFi Education Fund.

"We've got a lot of work to do on that front, to educate people in Washington and policy making circles about crypto because right now, people hear crypto and by and large think of Bitcoin and that's it," he said in an interview with The Block on Monday. "But of course, the ecosystem has exploded well beyond Bitcoin, and there's applications for all sorts of things being built on these decentralized networks."

The institute's debut comes ahead of the House Financial Services Committee's hearing to amend and vote on a bill to regulate stablecoins, which will then be worked on with the Senate's version. President Donald Trump said he hoped to have stablecoin legislation on his desk by August. Lawmakers have also set their sights on market structure legislation, though that is likely to take some time.

Whitehouse-Levine declined to comment on who specifically is funding the group, but said it has a "base of support of folks broadly interested in the Solana ecosystem."

Smith will leave The Blockchain Association on May 16. The group's board of directors has begun its search for Smith's successor, according to the statement.

"During her tenure, the Association successfully championed policies that support the development of blockchain technology, defended the industry against misguided regulations, and built a robust community of innovators committed to shaping the future of the industry," the association said.