Blockchain Association's Smith Returns as Interim CEO Amid Industry Regulatory Shift

The Blockchain Association has announced that CEO Summer Mersinger will step down on October 16, and remain as an adviser through the end of 2026.

Founding leader Kristin Smith will return as interim CEO from October 17, after serving as chief executive until 2025. During her tenure, Smith grew the organization into one of the crypto industry's most visible lobbying and policy groups in Washington.

Mersinger took over in June 2025, and was credited with helping steer the organization through rapid change in U.S. digital-asset policy, including new stablecoin legislation and increasingly detailed guidance from federal regulators.