Inventorying the Washington power in the crypto circle, who is speaking for U.S. crypto legislation?

Original Title: Mapping Crypto's Lobbying Layer

Original Author: David Christopher, Bankless

Original Compilation: Saoirse, Foresight News

The policy infrastructure of the crypto industry has matured significantly over the past decade.

From an initial single think tank in Washington, it has evolved into a complete network composed of industry associations, advocacy organizations, and specialized lobbying firms dedicated to specific ecosystems.

Today's landscape includes both comprehensive industry groups and specialized advocates focused on single ecosystems, each playing different roles in the process of promoting regulatory clarity.

In February 2026, the Hyperliquid Policy Center was officially established, becoming the latest member; prior to this, the Solana Policy Institute made its debut in 2025.

Let’s delve into which organizations are voicing their opinions in the power center of crypto policy in Washington.

Coin Center (2014)

The earliest crypto policy think tank.

Coin Center has been deeply engaged in Washington for over a decade, consistently advocating for open blockchain networks and user rights, and is the most ideologically libertarian organization in the industry.

Unlike other organizations focused on industry interests, Coin Center prioritizes representing individual users: defending users' rights to self-custody, privacy protection, and the right to use crypto assets without being burdened by cumbersome tax regulations.

Its core goals for 2026 include:

• Promoting the "Keep Your Coins Act," which prohibits the federal government from banning self-custody;

• Supporting the "Blockchain Regulatory Clarity Act" (BRCA), clarifying that developers who do not hold user funds should not be classified as money transmitters;

• Proposing detailed tax reforms: establishing a $600 tax-free threshold for small transactions, simplifying cost basis reporting, and taxing staking rewards only upon sale, rather than upon receipt.

Note: The taxation of staking rewards is a common pain point across the industry. Currently, the IRS treats new tokens generated from staking as income in the current period, leading to validators having to pay taxes without selling any assets, resulting in high compliance costs. Coin Center advocates for treating staking rewards like other generative assets: taxed only upon sale.

Blockchain Association (BA, 2018)

The largest crypto industry association in the U.S., representing over 100 member organizations, including trading platforms, mining companies, DeFi protocols, and infrastructure service providers.

If Coin Center speaks based on ideology, the Blockchain Association operates on a coalition model: coordinating member interests and translating them into legislative priorities.

Current focuses include:

• Tax equality, market structure legislation, DeFi protection;

• Officially releasing tax principles, advocating for small transaction exemptions, treating stablecoins as cash equivalents, and localizing perpetual contracts;

• Fully supporting BRCA and broader developer protection provisions.

DeFi Education Fund (DEF, 2021)

Originally established with governance grants from Uniswap, focusing specifically on decentralized finance. Its work revolves around three pillars: protecting software developers, empowering DeFi users, and defending permissionless blockchains.

• At the developer level: DEF advocates that when third parties misuse tools, builders should be exempt from liability, opposing the imposition of regulatory frameworks designed for custodial intermediaries on developers. Like Coin Center and the Blockchain Association, DEF also strongly supports BRCA.

• At the user level: Promoting self-custody rights, privacy protection, reducing reliance on trusted third parties, and emphasizing financial inclusion.

DEF's approach is more legal and research-oriented: submitting amicus briefs, regulatory comments, publishing educational interpretations, and operating the high-impact DeFi Debrief newsletter.

Solana Policy Institute (2025)

The first policy organization dedicated to a public chain ecosystem in the industry, co-founded by the former CEO of the DeFi Education Fund and the former CEO of the Blockchain Association. It shares core demands with the entire industry while closely serving Solana's ecosystem strategy.

Core agenda features:

• Project Open: Promoting a pilot for tokenized securities, allowing issuers to register equity as digital tokens on public chains, achieving instant settlement and transparent ownership records, positioning Solana as the infrastructure for expanding traditional capital markets;

• Supporting the "Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act": Expanding the definition of accredited investors to include knowledge qualifications, not just wealth thresholds.

Hyperliquid Policy Center (2026)

The newest and most vertically focused crypto policy organization, established with a $29 million investment from the Hyper Foundation, with the sole core mission: to ensure the compliance of perpetual futures in the U.S. market.

Led by the former Chief Policy Officer of the Blockchain Association, HPC precisely targets the regulatory gaps for decentralized derivatives.

Institutional goals:

• Educating policymakers on the operational logic of non-custodial trading protocols, promoting a regulatory framework that does not require intermediary custody.

• Strategic significance: With the "Clarity Act" stalled in the Senate, HPC seizes the window to shape regulators' understanding of DeFi derivatives. Its core argument is that the U.S. must either establish a framework to compete or completely cede the market (with perpetual contract trading volume reaching $92.7 trillion in 2025).

Consensus and Differences Across the Industry

Despite the differing positions and scopes of the five organizations, there is a high degree of consensus on core demands:

Common Goals:

• Developer protection: Almost all support BRCA, clearly stating that developers who do not hold funds are not money transmitters;

• Staking tax reform: Taxing block rewards/staking rewards upon sale, rather than upon receipt;

• Rights protection: User self-custody rights and small transaction tax exemptions.

Differing Directions:

• Coin Center: Sticking to ideology, focusing on privacy and user rights;

• Blockchain Association: Coordinating the interests of over 100 members across the industry;

• DeFi Education Fund: Deeply engaged in DeFi-specific regulation and legal support;

• Solana / Hyperliquid Policy Organizations: Ecosystem-specific, with agendas closely aligned with their core business (tokenization of securities, perpetual contracts).

These organizations collectively define the underlying values of the industry while reserving space for specialized advancement on key subtopics, marking the transition of the U.S. crypto industry from a "unified voice" to an era of "specialization, ecosystem focus, and refinement" in policy battles.