Blockchain Association Sets Kristin Smith as Interim CEO From Oct. 17

Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger will leave Oct. 16, with founding leader Kristin Smith returning as interim CEO as the industry policy group continues its legislative work.

Smith will take over Oct. 17 while remaining president of the association’s board. The group has not announced when it will choose a permanent CEO.

Mersinger will remain an adviser through Dec. 31. She joined the association in June 2025 after serving as a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

During 2026, the association held more than 300 meetings with congressional and agency staff and led seven member fly-ins on Capitol Hill. The leadership transition continues the association’s planned change at the top.

Smith was the association’s first employee when it launched in 2018 and served as CEO until 2025.

“Leading Blockchain Association has been one of the great privileges of my career,” Mersinger said.

“Kristin built this Association from the ground up, and BA is in good hands,” Mersinger said.

“Summer took the helm of Blockchain Association at the most consequential moment in the history of crypto policy, and she met it,” Smith said.

Separately, the Senate voted 49-50 on Sept. 15 against invoking cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The bill did not advance at that stage, and the vote was not final passage or rejection of the legislation.

Mersinger’s final day as CEO will be Oct. 16, followed by Smith’s interim appointment the next day.