A group of crypto industry figures has launched a nonprofit lobbying arm to engage US policymakers and the public on digital asset issues.

A nonprofit organization headed by significant figures in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry has launched with the goal of educating policymakers and encouraging public advocacy.

On Tuesday, the American Innovation Project (AIP), a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, DC, debuted planning to “connect policymakers, industry leaders, and experts to build understanding of emerging technologies,” including AI and blockchain.

Kristin Smith, president of the Solana Policy Institute, will head the new organization’s board of directors, which also consists of executives from the Blockchain Association, Paradigm, Digital Currency Group and Coinbase. 

“The American Innovation Project was established to foster dialogues regardless of partisan affiliation, so we can bridge divides and work together to move our country forward,” said Smith.

AIP joins several other US-based organizations that have cropped up in the last nine months, following many lawmakers considered to be “pro-crypto” winning their respective 2024 elections to fill the government. Among them were the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), backed by Ripple Labs, the Solana Policy Institute, which launched in March, and the DeFi Education Foundation, an initiative of the DeFi Education Fund.

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Regarding funding, the nonprofit reported that Digital Currency Group contributed $1 million, and the Cedar Innovation Foundation — a dark money group with at least one figure associated with the Fairshake political action committee — provided an unknown amount toward seed funding. Other donors included Andreessen Horowitz, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, Stand With Crypto and Uniswap Labs.

“Our mission is simple, but urgent: we must equip America’s leaders with the knowledge, context, and tools they need as they consider timely rules and regulations that meet the moment and account for a rapidly evolving technological landscape,” said Smith.

Big events are happening in Wyoming

Some of AIP’s board members, along with US lawmakers and industry leaders, are attending the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson Hole this week.

The organization said it would hold an “off-record” summit on Thursday, figuratively bridging the gap between the crypto-focused symposium and the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, starting the same day.

Among those in attendance at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium was Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, who offered a preview of the chamber’s plans to pass a market structure bill in September.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins also addressed the crowd on Tuesday, suggesting that under his leadership, the agency would take a different approach to treating tokens as securities.

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