Crypto Lobbying Doubles as Industry Seeks Washington Friends

Crypto and blockchain-related congressional lobbying took off in 2018 as some of the industry’s top players realized they should go to Washington before Washington comes for them.

Crypto exchange Coinbase, Inc., for example, increased its spending for lobbyists at Franklin Square Group to $50,000 in each of the last two quarters of 2018, a 66 percent increase from the last two quarters of 2017. At least 53 companies or trade groups reported lobbying on crypto- and blockchain-related issues at the end of 2018, compared to just 25 at the end of 2017, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis of lobbying ...