These 24 lobbyists are fighting to shape cryptocurrency's future on Capitol Hill

Martin works out of the firm's Chicago and Washington, DC, offices, according to his company's website. His work focuses on advising companies on industries that include healthcare, financial services, and higher education. One of his previous clients was Bitcoin Association, a Switzerland-based organization. 

A disclosure filed with the US Senate this year indicates he has helped lobby for the "development of a regulatory environment that fosters lawful conduct while enabling cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation." Before working at Cozen O'Connor, Martin spent several years as a legislative staffer for former Democratic former Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.

Martin did not respond to Insider's inquiry to comment for this story.

Baker-Taylor is based in the UK but spends most of her time traveling to Washington, DC, and various states.

In 2012, she became interested in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and began investing in them. Nearly two years later, her manager at HSBC Global Banking and Markets assigned her to learn how cryptocurrency works. 

"I realized that I was passionate about technology and passionate about the potential use of cases for financial inclusion and the way that the technology was being applied," she said.

She decided to work on cryptocurrency full time and left banking to join Coinfloor, a bitcoin-exchange platform.

She then worked for several cryptocurrency-related companies before joining the Chamber of Digital Commerce. Now, she spends most of her days on Capitol Hill lobbying on behalf of the association and educating lawmakers on digital assets.

"If our policymakers don't understand the technology and don't understand what we're trying to do, then they can't make good decisions," she said. "Policymakers need to also appreciate that this is not an area of expertise, that this is a new technology."

Metzner has spent more than two decades consulting on public-policy issues. He has expertise in the financial markets, trade policy, antitrust issues, and foreign policy, according to his company's website.

In 2021, he's lobbied on behalf of Chia Network Inc., a company that focuses on blockchain. He has lobbied on issues related to the "sustainability and compliance in the cryptocurrency space," according to a disclosure form.

He received his bachelor's degree in economics from Boston University. He also holds a Master of Arts in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Metzner did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed.

Before starting his own public-affairs and lobbying firm in 2007, he served as the CEO of Green & Grow, a consulting company, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also served as the external-affairs director for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he "developed and implemented legislative and public relations strategies involving finance, energy, and agriculture," according to LinkedIn profile.

In 2021, Sobba has lobbied on behalf of Ingenio LLC, a company that provides infrastructure-construction services. He lobbied on issues related to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies, according to a disclosure form.

He obtained his law degree from the University of Kansas and received a bachelor's in agronomy from Kansas State University.

Sobba did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed.

In 2019, Hample began to work for the Blockchain Association. In his role, he educates lawmakers about the cryptocurrency industry, according to his association's website.

Before Hample joined the Blockchain Association, he worked for the Vogel Group, an international government-affairs and consulting group in Washington, DC. In 2016, Hample also interned for Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat of Georgia. Hample attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he received his bachelor's degree.

Hample did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed.

In 2017, Hammond became interested in cryptocurrency when he served as the financial-services-policy staffer for Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican of Ohio. In that role, he had to find ways to regulate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Hammond said in an interview with Insider.

The cryptocurrency space has drastically expanded since then. He said lawmakers now need to understand how to regulate things like stablecoins, a digital commodity used as a form of payment, and nonfungible tokens, digital assets — from art to music to sports memorabilia — that are not a form of currency.

"The good thing is that it's moving so fast, and there's so much interest and hype compared to traditional bank lobbying," he said.

Hammond said his association was working behind the scenes to help lawmakers understand more about cryptocurrency and the blockchain.

McCarty describes himself as a law professor and lobbyist. While he works at McCarty Financial LLC, a lobbying and consulting firm, he also teaches law classes on cryptocurrency at the Georgetown University Law Center.

He said he got the idea to start teaching classes on cryptocurrency after talking to another professor at Georgetown University about the emerging market.

McCarty told Insider that the most challenging thing about lobbying on cryptocurrency was the "lack of knowledge on the crypto digital assets."

"There needs to be legal certainty and regulatory clarity for the industry to be taken seriously and to grow," he said.

This year, he has lobbied on behalf of CoinRegTech and Tradeweb, a financial-services company, according to a federal disclosure form. McCarty has also helped Rep. Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, to create the Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act, a bill that would more tightly regulate digital assets.

So far, there has been no movement on the bill since it was introduced in the House in July. 

In 2019, Seim joined ACG Analytics. Her role entails providing analysis on technology policy with a focus on cryptocurrency and central-bank digital currency, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is also responsible for managing the company's social-media platforms, according to the company website.

In 2021, she has also lobbied on behalf of Chia Network Inc. The issues that she's lobbied on involve the "sustainability and compliance in the cryptocurrency space," according to a disclosure form.

Ruth received her bachelor's degree in political science from American University in Washington, DC.

She did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed.

Lampkin is a veteran Republican lobbyist who also serves on the Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP executive committee.

He works on issues related to the telecommunications industry, as well as financial-services and tax-policy matters, education advocacy, and corporate mergers, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In 2021, he's lobbied on behalf of the Crypto Council for Innovation, where he advocated on issues related to cryptocurrency in the infrastructure bill known as the Build Back Better Act, according to a disclosure form.

Lampkin previously worked on Capitol Hill as an advisor for former House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio. 

He did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed.

Norton previously served as the general counsel to the House Judiciary and Financial Services committees.

He also was a staff director to the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, which was formerly led by Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican of South Carolina.

His expertise includes working on matters related to the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Board, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to his company's website. 

He uses his relationships on Capitol Hill "to assist clients by advocating for changes in federal financial services policy, at both the legislative and regulatory levels," according to his LinkedIn profile.

In 2021, he's lobbied on behalf of the Crypto Council for Innovation on issues related to "cryptocurrency H.R. 5376 Build Back Better Act," according to a disclosure form.

Norton did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed.

Dow has extensive experience working on matters related to cryptocurrency, financial markets, and rules and regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to her company's website.

She previously served as a senior vice president for Ogilvy Government Relations, a lobbying firm, and managing director for CME Group, an American global-markets company.

In 2021, she has lobbied on behalf of Digital Currency Group. She has dealt with issues related to cryptocurrency regulation, according to a disclosure form.

She received her bachelor's degree at Bowie State University. Dow went on to receive her law degree at Georgetown University.

She did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed.

Campbell previously worked on Capitol Hill as the general counsel and deputy staff director of the Senate Finance Committee," according to his company website.

He also worked for former Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat of Arkansas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat of Washington.

In 2021, he has also lobbied on behalf of the Digital Currency Group. He has dealt with issues related to "cryptocurrency regulation," according to a disclosure form.He has a law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law. He also obtained a bachelor's degree in agriculture from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, according to his LinkedIn page.

In 2015, Judge joined Crowe LLP, a public accounting, consulting, and technology firm. 

Before joining Crowe LLP, he served as an associate vice president for mCapitol Management, a lobbying firm.

He also has experience working on Capitol Hill. He was a legislative assistant for former Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, a Democrat of Ohio, and a legislative correspondent for Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat of Illinois.

In 2021, he's lobbied on behalf of his company on "accounting standards for cryptocurrency," according to a disclosure form.

Before joining Cozen O'Connor, Schweitzer worked as the chief operating officer of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program under the Treasury Department. He also held positions as a general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief ethics officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States. 

He has experience working in the climate-change, hospitality, and cryptocurrency and blockchain technology industries, according to his company's website. Schweitzer lobbying efforts also include helping the "development of a regulatory environment that fosters lawful conduct while enabling cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation," according to a disclosure form filed with the US Senate. He has lobbied on behalf of organizations that include the Bitcoin Association. 

Schweitzer declined to comment about his lobbying work.

Smith said she was first introduced to bitcoin when she worked at Thompson Coburn, a lobbying and law firm, in 2017, when one of her clients was Overstock.com. At the time, Overstock began accepting bitcoin for payments. Smith said she then began to learn more about cryptocurrency and started meeting more people who were working at companies that were involved in digital currency. 

Now Smith spends her time lobbying on Capitol Hill and meeting with lawmakers to educate them about what cryptocurrency is.

Smith said that one of the biggest challenges to lobbying on cryptocurrency is that it is "complex."

"We are asking policymakers to take the time to learn about the technology first," she told Insider in an interview. "There's a lot of nuances. It's a very sort of new way to structure a network to exchange value, and the old rules don't necessarily easily fit into this space."

Smith has extensive experience working on Capitol Hill. Some of her past positions include serving as deputy chief of staff and appropriations assistant for former Republican former Rep. Denny Rehberg of Montana and working as a legislative assistant to former Republican former Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Goldstein has expertise in financial services, fintech, cryptocurrency, media, and telecommunications industries, according to his LinkedIn profile. In 2021, he lobbied for organizations that include the Blockchain Association.

A disclosure filed this year with the US Senate indicates that Goldstein lobbied on issues related to "internet-based distributed financial systems and decentralized web applications using blockchain." He also lobbied in discussions around "stablecoins" and "custody of blockchain securities," according to the document.

He also has experience working in Congress, having served as a policy advisor in 1995 for Republican former Rep. Dick Zimmer of New Jersey, according to LinkedIn. He obtained a bachelor's degree in government from Lehigh University and a master's of philosophy in comparative politics from Glasgow University.

Goldstein did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed for the story.

Johnson is the cofounder of Klein/Johnson Group and has lobbied on behalf of the Digital Currency Group, a company focused on the digital-currency market. A disclosure form filed with the US Senate indicates that he lobbied "around digital asset and currency issues." Johnson did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed for the story. 

Before he started Klein/Johnson Group he spent nearly a decade working for Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas as a policy advisor. He is originally from Houston but now lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, according to the company website.

In 2012, Klein said he was introduced to the world of cryptocurrency by the Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert. 

This year, Klein lobbied on behalf of Digital Currency Group, a company that invests in digital-asset and cryptocurrency startups. He lobbied on currency and digital asset issues and  according to a disclosure form filed with the US Senate.

Klein told Insider that the biggest challenge in lobbying for this industry is "how complicated it is to explain some of the underlying technology."

In the coming weeks, he will closely monitor Congress' infrastructure bill and whether it will include crypto tax provisions. 

He will also closely monitor the White House's approach to combating ransomware attacks — and how that might affect the cryptocurrency industry. 

Klein has worked on Capitol Hill as the top communications staffer for Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and then-Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

In 2021, Barbour has lobbied for associations that include the Chamber of Digital Commerce, a major supporter of cryptocurrency that in 2020 contributed $50 worth of bitcoin to the campaigns of every member of Congress. 

Barbour's lobbying efforts entailed working on "issues related to blockchain and digital assets," according to a disclosure form filed in the US Senate. 

Previously Barbour served as a senior vice president at The Smith-Free Group, a government-relations firm. At the firm, he worked on issues related to the financial-services industries. He attended Ithaca College in New York and lives in Virginia with his family, according to his company's website.

Barbour declined to be interviewed for this story.

This year, Moore has also lobbied for the Chamber of Digital Commerce. A disclosure form filed in the US Senate details that her work also entailed helping on "blockchain and digital asset" issues. She did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed for this story.

Moore previously served as senior professional staff member for the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship under Republican then-Chairman Marco Rubio. She also worked as a staffer for the House Committee on Small Business and the Committee on House Administration.

Moore attended the Ohio State University to obtain her bachelor's degree. She lives in Washington, DC, according to her company's website.

Freeman has extensive experience working on issues on Capitol Hill. He previously served as deputy chief of staff to Republican former Rep. Ed Royce of California and focused on issues involving financial services, trade and energy issues, according to his company's website. Freeman received his bachelor's degree at Georgetown University. 

In his current role, Freeman has lobbied for the Chamber of Digital Commerce. A disclosure form filed in the US Senate details that he also worked on "issues related to blockchain and digital assets."

Freeman did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed for this story.

Noggle provides policy strategies for the association on issues such as privacy, cybersecurity, and financial services.

Noggle says that regulating cryptocurrency is like the "Wild West" and that it is complicated to define what it is and the type of services credit unions can provide their members.

He would like to see Congress play more of an active role in regulating cryptocurrency and implementing more safeguards in order to best protect consumers who use it.

"Cryptocurrency is sort of being used to circumvent normal regulations such as consumer-protection regulations. it's hard to compete with someone who doesn't have to follow regulations, and we're also concerned that a member could become harmed," he said.

Noggle received a master's degree in law from Georgetown University. He attended law school at Fordham University. 

Agurkis is the senior director of advocacy and congressional affairs at the Credit Union National Association. Agurkis lobbies on issues, legislation, and policies that are relevant to credit unions. He obtained a bachelor's of science from Wilkes University.

Agurkis told Insider that he will be closely monitoring hearings conducted by the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee on cryptocurrency. He is also interested in engaging with members of the new congressional House Financial Services Committee Task Forces on Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence. But he declined to go into specifics about what policies he plans to engage in.

This year, Graves has lobbied on behalf of Ripple Labs, a blockchain company. A disclosure filed with the US Senate indicates that Graves lobbied on issues related to "digital assets, crypto currencies, blockchain." The form also indicates that he lobbied on a legislative bill called Digital Commodity Exchange Act of 2020, which would establish more regulations on digital currencies. He did not respond to Insider's request to be interviewed for the story.

Before cofounding Conaway Graves, he was a partner at the law firm Williams & Jensen. Graves also served for many years as staff director at the House Agriculture Committee under Republican then-Chairman Mike Conaway of Texas, who is also a cofounder of the company. Graves is originally from Texas and now lives in Washington, DC.