Crypto Council for Innovation boosts its staking advocacy through new partnerships with the Proof of Stake Alliance, others
Quick Take
- CCI said it plans to work with one of its members, the Proof of Stake Alliance, on “educating global policymakers on the critical role of staking.”
- U.S. regulators, including the SEC, have honed in on staking in recent enforcement actions.
Crypto Council for Innovation is planning to delve more into staking as the advocacy group makes key moves to expand its outreach efforts to policymakers.
CCI said on Wednesday that it plans to work with one of its members, the Proof of Stake Alliance, on "educating global policymakers on the critical role of staking in network security and decentralization." The alliance advocates policies to promote proof-of-stake innovation.
“At the Proof of Stake Alliance, we’ve been dedicated to producing legal and policy research and advocating for policies that support, grow, and protect proof-of-stake technologies and raising awareness about their crucial role in network security and maintenance. We are ready to take this message globally," said Alison Mangiero, executive director at POSA, in a statement.
The market cap for staking increased from $19 million in 2019 to over $500 billion, CCI said, citing a figure from Staking Rewards.
Staking refers to holding and locking up a certain amount of crypto tokens to support the proof-of-stake network's operations and is a way for investors to earn rewards. Over the past year, big names within the crypto industry, including Binance, have announced staking products.
Lawmakers in the U.S. have worked on legislation surrounding the taxation of staking. Reps. Wiley Nickel, D-N.C., and Drew Ferguson, R-Ga., introduced a bill in May that says that staking rewards should only be taxed at the time of their sale in order to prevent double taxation.
Regulators have also honed in on staking. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought charges against multiple firms over their staking programs, including Kraken, Consensys and Coinbase.
POSA’s efforts will be led by Mangiero, who will collaborate with other members including Ava Labs, Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm, according to the statement. Mangiero highlighted the rapid growth and change of the staking ecosystem.
"I think we’ve punched above our weight class in terms of the policy papers and industry principles we’ve been able to produce in the past few years – but as the staking ecosystem has grown and changed so rapidly it became clear that we’d need to do more on a global scale," she said in an emailed statement to The Block.
Over the next year, POSA plans to release new policy papers and continue engaging with policymakers and regulators to clarify staking concepts, such as restaking, Mangiero said.
Other partners
CCI also said it plans to collaborate with Global Digital Finance, a nonprofit focused on digital assets.
"Through this collaboration, both organizations will continue existing joint work on critical issues, including staking; engage jointly on select key policy papers and consultation responses to regulators and policymakers; and further build community engagement in the UK," CCI said in the statement. "This work will help ensure that crypto and digital assets are used responsibly and sustainably, laying the groundwork for a more inclusive global financial system.
The group also announced on Wednesday that it plans to bring on Yele Bademosi as an advisor. Bademosi is the founder of the crypto payments app Bundle and has been a crypto advocate in Africa's digital asset community.
"Through his leadership, CCI will work to connect African innovators with global policymakers, ensuring that Africa's burgeoning crypto industry is represented in discussions shaping the future of digital finance," said CCI CEO Sheila Warren in the statement.
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