Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith will resign next month from her role at the prominent crypto-focused industry group that helped elect the U.S.' first pro-crypto president to lead Layer-1 blockchain Solana’s new policy push. 

Smith will begin a new role as president of Solana’s Policy Institute on May 19, she said Tuesday in an X post. Her last day at the Blockchain Association will be May 16. 

The Blockchain Association’s Board of Directors has already begun the search for Smith’s successor, the group’s communications lead Curtis Kincaid told Decrypt.  

“We’ve grown from a small group of passionate advocates into a leading force in Washington, D.C., and beyond,” Smith said in the X post. “Blockchain Association today is stronger than ever.” 

Founded in 2018, the Blockchain Association is one of several industry groups that has fought to advance the crypto industry's interests on Capitol Hill. Their efforts helped lead to the election of pro-crypto President Donald Trump last November—a watershed moment for an industry that had previously existed on tenterhooks.

But as digital asset firms’ clout in Washington D.C. has grown, so too have calls to enshrine even more of the industry's interests into law. To meet that demand, a few Layer-1 blockchains have launched policy institutes. Now, Solana is joining them.

Smith's tenure at the Blockchain Association has spanned roughly six years.

Before joining the BA, she worked as a Senate and congressional aide on Capitol Hill. During that time, she largely focused on tech-focused policy initiatives.

Beyond the halls of Congress, Smith is also active on the boards of several prominent firms in the crypto space. She has served as a board member of the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web and the Anthony Scaramucci-founded Skybridge Capital’s G and GII Funds.

Solana, the sixth largest digital asset by market capitalization, was recently trading at $126.70, flat over the past 24 hours.

“This isn’t goodbye to the industry I love — just a shift in perspective,” Smith said in a statement.

UPDATE (April 1, 2025, 4:35 p.m. ET): Adds information about Smith, quote, and Solana price data. 

Edited by James Rubin