Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger to step down, Kristin Smith to return as interim CEO

Leading cryptocurrency trading group, the Blockchain Association, is switching up its leadership, with CEO Summer Mersinger set to step down next month and former CEO Kristin Smith returning to lead the crypto trade group on an interim basis.

On Friday, the Blockchain Association said Mersinger's last day will be on Oct. 16 and said she will stay on as an advisor until the end of the year.

"I'm grateful to our team, who poured everything into this work, and to our members, who showed up for it again and again," Mersinger said in a statement. "Kristin built this Association from the ground up, and BA is in good hands. I'll be cheering them on."

Smith, who was previously CEO at the Blockchain Association, will step in in the interim. Smith is currently the president of the Solana Policy Institute, or SPI, and its communications director Emily Wilson told The Block that her role there is not changing.

"Come Oct. 17, she will take on the additional role at BA as interim CEO to guide the organization to its next chapter," Wilson said.

Mersinger led the Blockchain Association during a pivotal period for crypto policy in Washington. During her tenure, Congress passed stablecoin legislation that was signed into law in July 2025. The association also pushed for broader crypto legislation, including the Clarity Act, which passed the House last year but has since stalled in the Senate. The bill is now unlikely to become law this year, despite hopes within the crypto industry.

Mersinger took on the role as CEO of the Blockchain Association after leaving her role as a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. She was nominated by former President Joe Biden to fill a Republican seat at the CFTC and was sworn in in March 2022.

"Summer took the helm of Blockchain Association at the most consequential moment in the history of crypto policy, and she met it," Smith said. "She brought the credibility of a former regulator and experience on Capitol Hill, and she put every bit of it to work for this industry."

"We have an exceptional team and a clear mission. I can't wait to get to work," Smith added.