Michelle Bond, who has been a central player in crypto advocacy in Washington, is launching a new think tank called Digital Future to help shape new rules for crypto and artificial intelligence.
Digital Future said it plans to work with stakeholders and policymakers on issues surrounding financial services and “advocate for policies that enhance the integrity and stability of the marketplace,” according to a statement released on Thursday.
“Lawmakers have yet to pass significant and impactful legislation on crypto and AI,” Bond said in the statement. “Our mission at Digital Future is to promote regulation that strikes the right balance between protecting consumers while also allowing these new industries to flourish, promoting innovation, and building capital, and we look forward to working with policymakers to shape the future of the financial services industry.”
Washington lawmakers have been garnering support for bills to regulate the industry over the past year. In May, the U.S. House passed a Republican-led Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, also known as FIT21. Seventy-one Democrats voted in support of the bill, including former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have also been working on bills to regulate stablecoins.
Digital Future is not backing any legislation at the moment, Bond said in an emailed statement to The Block.
“We are currently evaluating all current draft legislation and will provide policy and technical feedback, especially because some pending bills are not ideal and can be improved,” Bond said. “This isn’t intended to be a criticism, it’s just that no bill is perfect, and hard work goes into drafting legislation because you need to get it right.”
Bond pushed back on the idea that bills to regulate the crypto industry could serve as an initial step for practical regulation.
“There is one pitfall to avoid that we also experience time and time again — where certain industry members want to push certain legislation, claiming that we just needed a starting point, any starting point,” Bond added in the email. “However, I think no legislation is much better than bad legislation. We should fully evaluate what these bills do to DeFi, for example, before trying to ram anything through. It can be very difficult, if not impossible, to amend legislation once passed.”
Bond’s advocacy history
Bond was previously the CEO of the Association for Digital Asset Markets, a trade group representing the crypto industry. Members include FTX, Paxos, and Robinhood Crypto.
Digital Future is different from the association in that it broadly encompasses financial services, Bond said.
“Digital Future will engage with litigation, policy initiatives, research, education and advocacy and advance member interests in a number of ways. We have a broader mission and mandate and will be able to positively promote innovation in the US and beyond,” Bond said.
She unsuccessfully ran as a Republican for a U.S. House seat representing New York’s 1st district in 2022. Bond has also held a position as senior counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2012, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also previously provided expertise to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, according to the statement.
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