Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

BETWEEN 2017 and mid-2021 the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), America’s derivatives-markets regulator, was one of the agencies that discussed crypto the most. Brian Quintenz, who ran its technology committee, was responsible for much of that, organising presentations on everything from the integrity of bitcoin spot markets to the subject of decentralised finance. “I developed a reputation as being…an advocate of innovation,” he says.

In September Mr Quintenz joined Andreessen Horowitz, a venture-capital firm and an investor in crypto startups, as an adviser. He is only one of many former American officials to have flocked to the cryptoverse. Others include Jay Clayton, the previous head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Brian Brooks, who until January was the acting Comptroller of the Currency; and Chris Giancarlo, head of the CFTC between 2017 and 2019. In Britain, Philip Hammond, a former chancellor of the exchequer, joined Copper, a crypto startup, in October.