The price of Bitcoin has been on the decline, not only in the past few weeks but in the year in general when compared to the previous year which saw Bitcoin’s price rise to staggering levels. This, however, has not deterred officials in the industry from organizing a charm offensive with the main targets being regulators and federal lawmakers.
Blockchain Association To Champion Crypto Causes
Several well-known crypto firms and veterans in the technology sector have come together to form an industry lobby group that will champion for the issues plaguing Blockchain technology and the digital assets driving it. The lobby group will be known as the Blockchain Association and will represent the entrepreneurs and investors who are exploring the applicability of the Blockchain technology and will also be the first of its kind, for the crypto sphere, in the capital.
Some of the founding companies making up the Blockchain Association include Coinbase, a digital currency exchange, and Circle, a Crypto finance company. Other companies joining the push are Filecoin, a tech startup created by Protocol Labs, and Polychain Capital, an investment fund, among others.
The Blockchain Association is looking to be a voice for the industry in Washington on matters policies and speak on behalf of mainstream companies who are looking forward to working with policymakers. The announcement clarifies that it will not be a lobby group that will be championing for the circumvention of current laws.
Not The First Of Its Kind
The first duty of the Blockchain Association will be to look into how Cryptocurrencies are described in the United States tax laws and expounding on the application of the AML (anti-money-laundering) and KYC (know-your-customer) regulations in the industry.
This is not the first attempt made by industry players at creating a lobby group. In the past two years various Blockchain firms, financial institutions, and major banks have created associations in different countries including Australia, China, and the United States to make sure that any entity developing financial products based on the Blockchain technology is complying with the regulations and policies of that particular jurisdiction.
Last year, some of the leading Crypto companies in India including Unocoin, Zebpay, Coinsecure, and SearchTrade came together to form an association dubbed the Blockchain and Virtual Currency Association of India in response to the attack of the Crypto space by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India). Early this year, seven Crypto companies came together to form an independent trade body in Britain. This trade body was to create self-regulating standards for the Crypto space.
A Unified Front
The Blockchain Association is looking to become the main Crypto lobby group championing the causes of mainstream Crypto companies in Washington. It also wants to be the voice for crypto firms that are looking to work with the political system.
Mike Lempres, who is the chief legal and risk officer at Coinbase, said the association was created so that the leading Crypto companies could come together and create a unified front which will show policymakers that appropriate regulations would be embraced.
