Highlights from the DC Summit

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I am again in New York after a fast journey to DC (simply in time to see the Yankees hopefully beat the Dodgers tonight in Sport 1 of the World Sequence). However I digress.

I spent yesterday on the DC Privateness Summit, the place there was no baseball speak however, unsurprisingly, quite a lot of coverage.

Within the remaining days earlier than the election, we have heard lots of the identical sound bites. Trade officers are on the file saying they look ahead to working with the subsequent administration and are excited to proceed working with policymakers. I get it; everybody has a job and a message to get out, however these feedback maintain getting repeated.

In an effort to liven issues up, listed below are a few of my favourite and (in my view) most attention-grabbing quotes I heard on Thursday:

“Privateness doesn’t essentially imply the absence of knowledge or the anonymity of people.”

Carole Home, particular advisor for cybersecurity and demanding infrastructure coverage on the White Home Nationwide Safety Council, mentioned throughout a keynote dialogue.

Home, co-author of President Joe Biden’s 2022 crypto govt order, added that privateness issues the stability between defending delicate information and sustaining “sure permissions” that permit it to be made public when crucial.

“Dozens of roundtable discussions are wanted for workers and members [of Congress] to essentially really feel comfy at a listening to.”

The above quote got here from Allison Behuniak, workers director of the Home Subcommittee on Digital Property, Monetary Know-how and Inclusion. The subcommittee has had about seven crypto-focused hearings to date this yr, which is spectacular and speaks to the work occurring behind the scenes.

Whereas there was extra dialogue round crypto on the Hill these days, I feel the trade typically ignores the uphill battle it usually takes to get crypto points earlier than lawmakers. With Chairman Patrick McHenry retiring on the finish of the session, the agenda for the subsequent Congress is much more unsure.

“We have to suggest options that really deal with what policymakers are rightly involved about.”

Michele Korver, head of regulatory affairs at a16z Crypto, made this remark. In what many trade leaders name a “hostile regulatory atmosphere,” these kind of concessions are unusual.

Korver added that the trade ought to share among the issues of policymakers round privateness.

“We wish our customers and the expertise to achieve success,” she famous. “We wish them to be secure and safe, not enabling [illicit activity].”