Ex-CFTC leader to leave Blockchain Association after CLARITY vote fails
Summary
Summer Mersinger will leave her role as CEO of the Blockchain Association on Oct. 16 and step down from the group at year’s end. Kristin Smith, the association’s former CEO, will return as interim CEO. Mersinger joined the group in June 2025 after leaving the CFTC before her second term ended. The association highlighted her work advancing the GENIUS Act and pushing for regulatory clarity from the SEC and CFTC. It did not mention the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, another top priority that the group backed heavily. That bill recently failed to clear a Senate cloture vote, a setback that could leave it stalled until 2027. Mersinger said she joined to help secure clear rules and a unified voice for the industry in Washington.
