Update (September 25, 10:20 pm UTC): This article has been updated to clarify Christine Smith’s role with the Solana Policy Institute.
Summer Mercinger, formerly a commissioner of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will step down as CEO of the Blockchain Association and leave the advocacy organization at the end of the year after one of the group’s legislative priorities faced a significant setback in Congress.
On Friday, the Blockchain Association (BA) announcement That Mercinger will step down as CEO on Oct. 16, while the group’s former chief executive, Christine Smith, will return to lead the organization as interim CEO in addition to her existing role as president of the Solana Policy Institute. Mersinger joined the Blockchain Association in June 2025 after leaving the CFTC three years before the end of his second term as commissioner.
“I came here from the CFTC because I believe the industry deserves clear rules of the road and a credible, unified voice for them in Washington,” Mercinger said during his departure from the BA.
The agency cited Mercinger’s efforts to advance national innovation by guiding and establishing the US Stablecoin, or Genius Act, as well as helping provide regulatory clarity to the “(Securities and Exchange Commission) and CFTC.”
Notably, the agency did not mention the Digital Asset Market Transparency Act under consideration in the Senate, which repeatedly B.A. push Legislators to support. The bill failed to get enough votes from Democrats and Republicans in a cloture motion earlier this month, which many experts expect will keep the law in limbo until 2027.
The Blockchain Association did not immediately respond to questions about Mersinger’s plans for 2027.
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