The Crypto Council for Innovation was founded on the premise that substantive expertise, credibility, and integrity are crucial elements to effective advocacy. In the three short years since I joined as CCI’s inaugural CEO, we have become the most influential global advocacy organization in the digital assets industry. We’ve curated an exceptional group of innovators, leaders, and experts who set the table with policymakers around the world, guiding the future of blockchain and digital assets.
At CCI, we’ve always believed in the power of collaboration, working across political divides and bringing in true subject-matter experts to drive meaningful change. Today, I’m thrilled to share several major developments that represent the next phase of CCI’s strategic growth and unique influence. Our global advocacy reach continues to expand with exciting new partnerships, projects, and the addition of key industry leaders to our ranks. As discussed further below, we’ve not only become the go-to resource for policymakers around the world, we have also achieved marked successes. These exciting developments will build on this foundation and expand our approach into new areas, both substantively and geographically.
These milestones are not just about CCI’s growth—they are about amplifying the global impact of the entire crypto ecosystem. First, we’re expanding our ranks 1) by integrating the Proof of Stake Alliance (POSA) to deepen our technical expertise in staking ecosystems and 2) by embarking upon a research partnership with the Decentralization Research Center. Second, we’re expanding globally by 1) partnering with the Japan Cryptoasset Business Association (JCBA) to enhance our policy work across Asia, 2) collaborating with Global Digital Finance (GDF) to strengthen industry standards, and 3) welcoming Yele Bademosi, the Co-Creator of Onboard Global and a prominent voice in the African blockchain space, to Team CCI as our Africa Advisor. Together, these developments further cement CCI as the global leader in policy advocacy and responsible cross-industry leadership.
Elevating Global Technical Expertise: CCI and the Proof of Stake Alliance
CCI already has a number of legal and technical experts on staff and within our network; having this expertise on hand is part of what makes us so effective as advocates. Today, we’re taking a major step forward in expanding our subject matter and technical expertise with the integration of the Proof of Stake Alliance (POSA) into CCI’s ecosystem. Staking has become a key topic of conversation globally: the staking market has surged to nearly $600 billion today. With POSA joining CCI, we take our advocacy and policy work in this area to the next level.
Alison Mangiero, a trusted expert in this field, will continue to lead the project, which will be anchored by Figment and Polychain Capital, and includes other key members such as Andreessen Horowitz, Ava Labs, Blockdaemon, Eigen Labs, Electric Capital, Lido, Kiln, and Paradigm. The mission remains simple: to continue to advocate for clear and forward-thinking policies that ensure staking protocols remain secure, decentralized, and long-lasting. The work POSA has done up to this point has been nothing short of remarkable, and we are excited to take that journey further, and expand it globally, under the CCI umbrella.
Focusing on Fundamentals: CCI and Decentralization Research Center
As part of our mission to stay ahead of the curve, we are also partnering with the Decentralization Research Center. This research collaboration will focus on exploring and advancing the fundamental technologies that drive decentralized systems, ensuring that policymakers and industry leaders alike fully understand the implications and potential of decentralized infrastructure. By working alongside the Decentralization Research Center, CCI will further enhance its thought leadership in this space, driving the conversation around decentralized systems and their role in the future of digital finance and technology. In addition, this partnership will allow CCI to collect evidence for and highlight the importance of equitable decentralized models that won’t just make crypto fairer, but can be used for adjacent tech like AI.
Strengthening Global Ties: CCI Partners with JCBA and GDF, and Expands to Africa
Increased Engagement in Crucial Geographies: CCI Partners with Japan Cryptoasset Business Association (JCBA)
Speaking of global, one of the most exciting aspects of CCI’s work is our ability to connect and collaborate with influential policymakers worldwide. That’s why I’m particularly proud to announce our new partnership with the Japan Cryptoasset Business Association (JCBA). Together, CCI and JCBA will work on advancing responsible and substantive digital asset policy in Japan. This partnership will further enable CCI to advocate for continued digital asset regulations and policy more generally across Asia, which is a region that has established itself as a critical player in shaping the future of digital assets and related technology.
Since we started operations, CCI has focused on ensuring that our engagement honors the expertise that resides within a given geography. By coordinating our efforts with JCBA, we can share insights to key policymakers and regulators in Japan that will advance the industry. Our combined strength and expertise will give us the ability to engage policymakers more effectively, connect the dots globally, and advocate for innovation-friendly policies to best represent and advocate for our respective members.
Strengthening Industry Standards: CCI’s Collaboration with Global Digital Finance (GDF)
CCI is excited to expand our leadership, activity, and presence in the UK and beyond by further partnering with Global Digital Finance (GDF). Having worked collaboratively with GDF over the last year on key policy papers, issues, and events, we are pleased to be taking things to the next level for the year ahead. This is especially timely given the importance UK policymakers are placing on staking and finding clear regulatory pathways in the year ahead.
CCI and GDF represent two premier digital assets member associations, and our shared approach reflects our natural alignment. This collaboration represents a critical opportunity to present a holistic, mature and substantive view from our industry to policymakers and the new UK Government at a crucial time in the UK’s development of its cryptoassets regulatory regime.
CCI and GDF are excited to be collaborating to support the UK digital assets ecosystem and to work with legislators, regulators, and policymakers to achieve appropriate regulatory outcomes that help grow and cement the UK’s leadership when it comes to responsible innovation. We are particularly pleased to be collaborating on the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Digital Finance. The APPG is soon to be reconstituted under the new government, and CCI and GDF will work closely to identify the themes and topics we want to explore with the APPG in 2025, as well as ensuring we capitalize on the APPG as a valuable education tool.
Expanding Networks Across Africa: Welcoming New Advisor Yele Bademosi
Last but not least, it gives me great joy to welcome Yele Bademosi as a new advisor to CCI. Yele, the Co-Creator of Onboard Global, is recognized globally as a leader for our industry and innovation. As the founder of both Nestcoin and Bundle Africa and a prominent voice across the African blockchain space, he will help CCI expand its network across the continent, which is one of the fastest-growing digitally native populations in the entire world. His extensive knowledge of the digital asset landscape in Africa’s major markets and his commitment to fostering blockchain adoption make him an invaluable addition to the CCI team.
The addition of Yele to team CCI further underscores our dedication to broadening its global reach, with a particular focus on Africa’s rapidly growing focus in blockchain and digital assets. Through his leadership, CCI will work to connect African innovators with global policymakers, ensuring that Africa’s ever-expanding crypto industry is represented in discussions shaping the future of digital finance and technology.
A Year of Advocacy: FIT21 and CCI’s Landmark Efforts
These exciting announcements cap an exceptional year for our global team across all of our priority jurisdictions. One of CCI’s most significant accomplishments was spearheading the industry’s largest and first-ever coalition of its kind to support the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) and help support its bipartisan passage in the House. This landmark bill was the result of dedicated advocacy and community building by CCI. Nearly 60 industry organizations united under our leadership to support the House passage of this bill, which would establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework focused on accelerating the growth of blockchain and digital assets, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and national security in the digital asset space.
Our efforts to rally the industry behind FIT21 represented a defining moment in the eyes of US policymakers. For the first time, developers, start-ups, and major players came together at scale to push for regulatory clarity. This was not just about supporting a bill—it was about showing policymakers that our industry is ready and willing to engage in constructive bipartisan dialogue to build a safer, more inclusive financial system.
Staking roundtable and subsequent guidance change
Staking has been a key policy topic in the UK and EU, with policymakers engaging with industry to further consider potential regulatory treatment and ways to ensure staking innovation thrives. CCI has been at the forefront of these discussions, and this summer spearheaded a roundtable with GDF, during which a mixture of leading industry participants and UK and EU regulators engaged in an in-depth, informed discussion regarding various staking related issues. As a direct result of this public-private roundtable and subsequent bilateral engagement, European regulators revised their staking approach to better align with our analysis. The ongoing UK focus on staking makes our respective partnerships with GDF and POSA even more pivotal, and we look forward to continuing this important work with policymakers in 2025.
Engaging with US Public Sector: Connecting Industry and Policy
Another critical component of CCI’s advocacy this year has been our ongoing engagement with the US public sector, ensuring key personnel across federal agencies understand new technologies, anticipate future risks, and recognize the crypto industry as a valuable partner and resource. CCI’s quarterly bespoke workshops have played a central role in these efforts.
More specifically, CCI’s workshops – which have become a hot ticket among agency personnel! – bring together experts and regulators from agencies such as the FBI, DHS, Treasury, US Secret Service, IRS, FINRA, FinCEN, the Federal Reserve, and the Department of Commerce, among others, with private sector technologists and innovators. Nearly 50% of attendees represent regulatory and/or law enforcement bodies, giving CCI members an exclusive opportunity to engage directly with those shaping the future of crypto policy on the ground.
These workshops covered emerging topics such as Decentralized Infrastructure (DePIN), Zero-Knowledge Proofs, and Multi-Party Computation. The experience not only helps public sector professionals stay ahead of technological advancements but also fosters deeper understanding, connection, and cooperation between the crypto industry, policymakers, and regulators. (Plus, they’re really fun.)
This regular interaction has led to US national security and law enforcement officials turning to CCI as a first-call trusted voice. For example, the Department of State recently sought CCI’s input as the State Department organized a joint summit with South Korea on how to protect the crypto industry from North Korean exploitation. And the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the entire US intelligence community, has engaged directly with CCI staff and members as part of events and efforts to educate the intelligence community about the benefits and strategic importance of Web3 technology.
In addition to our quarterly bespoke workshops, CCI has engaged with Members of Congress and their staff across both parties and both chambers to advocate for a comprehensive federal regulatory framework and also explain why crypto is critical to the US’s economy. In particular, we have actively advocated for the need to create a forward-thinking regulatory framework that fosters innovation while protecting consumers, with an overarching goal of ensuring that the U.S. remains a global leader in the digital economy.
While the federal government has been slow to establish a comprehensive framework for digital assets, US states have stepped in to fill the leadership vacuum. Several states have enacted requirements for digital asset businesses through licensing and supervisory frameworks.
Over the course of this year, CCI has regularly engaged with state governments through comment letters, meetings with strategic personnel at both the executive and legislative branches, and committee testimony in key jurisdictions like Wyoming to ensure that rules being considered at every level are fit-for-purpose and tailored to the inherent attributes of digital assets.
We held lobby days in Albany, NY and Sacramento, CA, which offered our members the opportunity to engage directly with decision makers in those states’ legislatures and executive branches. In California, policymakers heard firsthand about the unique concerns the digital asset industry has with the Digital Financial Assets Law, California’s new licensing and supervisory regime as well as our consensus-based recommendations for addressing them. These include the need to narrow DFAL’s overly broad scope, increase clarity for future licensees, streamline the licensing process, and the unique challenges that digital asset startups face. In New York, we hosted an educational briefing on the nexus between crypto and AI, advocated for ways to improve existing regulations, and highlighted the need to ensure that digital asset startups do not face steep barriers to entry to operate in the state. Such efforts are central to CCI’s mission—ensuring that as the digital asset space evolves, the public and private sectors can work constructively to develop policies that encourage innovation while mitigating risk.
Looking Ahead: The CCI Forum in Brussels
CCI’s global leadership and focus on the EU in particular will be further reflected in our inaugural Forum in Brussels this November, where we are bringing together key policymakers, regulators, and some of the brightest minds in our industry. We’ll be welcoming a prestigious lineup of speakers, including Illia Polosuhkin, Co-Founder of Near Protocol, Marcel Haag, Director at the European Commission, Jean-Paul Servais, Chair of IOSCO, and Mathieu Michel, Belgian Secretary of State for Digitalization.
This invitation-only Forum will serve as a critical venue for discussing the future of digital finance in Europe, and we’re thrilled to bring policymakers and industry leaders together to chart the path forward. As we continue to expand our global footprint, this event will set the tone for our advocacy and policy engagement across the region. We will be sharing more information about this event, including ways for community members to engage, over the coming month.
A Future of Innovation and Collaboration
These milestones mark a defining moment for CCI. With our expanded presence in Africa, Asia, UK, and the EU, as well as increased technical expertise in staking and decentralization, CCI is better positioned than ever to advocate for policies that will shape the future of digital assets.
We are excited for what’s ahead and are confident that by working together with our members, partners, and global policymakers and regulators, we can continue to drive the conversation forward and help build a world where digital asset innovation is available to – and benefits – everyone.
— Sheila Warren, CEO, Crypto Council for Innovation
