Digital Currency Group registers to lobby for the first time

Crypto investment giant Digital Currency Group is getting into lobbying.

Per an August 15 filing, Julie Stitzel, the firm's VP of public policy, has registered to lobby on behalf of DCG. It is the firm's first direct entrance into the field.

DCG is a venture capital firm focused on the crypto industry. Its portfolio includes major stakes in Grayscale Asset Management, brokerage firm Genesis Trading, and news outlet CoinDesk. The recent filing describes DCG's mission to "Support bitcoin & blockchain companies by leveraging insights, network & access to capital."

Up to the most recent filings, DCG has been reporting $120,000 in lobbying spending per quarter. Those have, however, been through contracts with outside firms Klein Johnson Group and Capitol Counsel. Those contracts began last summer and fall, around the same time as overall interest in Washington, DC from the crypto industry skyrocketed in response to a crypto tax reporting requirement in the infrastructure bill. 

Many of the DGC's portfolio companies are already heavy hitters in lobbying, including Coinbase, FTX, Ripple, Silvergate and Chainalysis. 

The registration does not indicate DCG's planned spending on its lobbying efforts, which will likely have to wait until the next quarter's disclosures. A representative for DCG had not returned a request for comment as of publication time. 

Despite an overall bear market, crypto industry spending on lobbying has continued to grow. Firms like FTX have likewise hired new staff to work directly on Capitol Hill.