Kristin Smith will run the Blockchain Association while still leading Solana's policy institute

Kristin Smith has held a Solana job and a Blockchain Association title at the same time since 2025. That year she left the association's chief executive post to run the new Solana Policy Institute, and she kept the presidency of the association's board ^[5]. From October 17 she has the operating job back as well ^[1]. The institute has said which role comes first. According to its communications director, Emily Wilson, Smith's work there does not change and the association duties are additional ^[6]. An association spokesman confirmed the arrangement ^[7]. Smith called the return "personal for me" ^[20].

The job she is adding is a heavy one. By its own count the association held more than 300 meetings with congressional and agency staff in 2026 ^[16], and its next round of that work starts from a defeat. The Senate's September 15 cloture vote on the Clarity Act failed 49 to 50, 11 short of 60, with four Republicans voting no and no Democrat voting yes ^[8]. Flip all four Republicans and the bill reaches 53, still seven short ^[2]. The last-minute rewrite also drew complaints from the industry's own advocates and from the states. Coin Center's Jason Somensatto called the removal of explicit criminal-liability protection for software developers under 18 U.S.C. 1960 "deeply disappointing" ^[17]. Eighteen state attorneys general, led by New York's Letitia James, warned the measure could undermine state fraud enforcement ^[18].

The departing chief executive, Summer Mersinger, described the job in terms of unity. "I came here from the CFTC because I believed this industry deserved clear rules of the road and a credible, unified voice making the case for them in Washington," she said ^[12]. She joined in June 2025, having left the CFTC three years before her second term was due to end ^[10][11], so her time in the job comes to about 16 months ^[1].

The association has filled the seat from inside, and the interim title leaves the permanent choice open. A permanent chief with no single-chain role could arrive before the Senate tries again, in which case Smith's term is a bridge. The interim could instead run into 2027; Cointelegraph reported that the failed vote is expected to leave the bill in limbo until then ^[15], and one person would then lead both groups into the next vote. Or the bill moves sooner, and the arrangement gets tested in a live fight over provisions such as the developer protections.

In my view the overlap matters little while the bill is stalled and a lot if it returns before a permanent hire. The seven votes still missing after any Republican return ^[2] have to be won by a group that asks senators to treat it as the whole industry's voice, led by someone whose other employer speaks for one chain. The counter-case is that Smith has run the Solana institute while presiding over the association's board since 2025 ^[5], so members are not meeting the overlap for the first time. The concern would also be wrong if the association takes a position on the Clarity rewrite that the Solana institute does not share.