Policymakers
Profiles of the individuals who matter — SEC and CFTC chairs, Treasury secretaries, Congressional committee leaders, ESMA, ECB, FCA, FSB, FATF, and IMF leadership.
Digital asset policy is shaped by individuals as much as institutions. Paul Atkins at the SEC, Brian Quintenz at the CFTC, Scott Bessent at Treasury, Tim Scott at Senate Banking, French Hill at House Financial Services — on the US side alone, these five figures control the near-term legislative and regulatory trajectory. Add ESMA Chair Verena Ross, ECB President Christine Lagarde, FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi, FSB Chair Andrew Bailey, FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo, and SFC CEO Julia Leung, and the cast of relevant principals numbers fewer than thirty people worldwide. This section profiles each one.
Agustin Carstens: The BIS General Manager Who Called Crypto 'A Ponzi Scheme' — and Built CBDC Infrastructure
BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens has been the most vocal senior central banker calling out crypto's fundamental flaws — while simultaneously running the world's most active institutional CBDC research and experimentation programme.
Andrew Bailey: Bank of England Governor, FSB Chair, and Crypto's Most Influential Skeptic
Andrew Bailey holds two of the most powerful positions in international financial regulation — Bank of England Governor and FSB Chair from July 2025. His cautious, stability-focused approach to crypto shapes both UK policy and international standards.
Brian Quintenz: From CFTC Commissioner to A16z Advisor to CFTC Chair
Brian Quintenz's career — CFTC commissioner, a16z policy advisor, nominated CFTC Chair — encapsulates the revolving door dynamics of US crypto regulation and represents the most crypto-friendly CFTC leadership in the agency's history.
Christine Lagarde: The ECB President Building Europe's Digital Currency
ECB President Christine Lagarde is the most prominent advocate for the digital euro — championing a central bank digital currency for 340 million Europeans while maintaining a cautious, sometimes dismissive stance on private crypto assets.
DG FISMA: The European Commission Directorate That Wrote MiCA
The European Commission's Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) drafted MiCA and continues to lead EU digital finance policy — making it the institutional author of the world's most comprehensive crypto framework.
Elisa de Anda Madrazo: FATF's First Latin American President and Crypto Enforcement Focus
FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo — Mexico's representative — brings a developing-country perspective to global AML/CFT standards, with particular focus on crypto's role in narco-finance and the Travel Rule's uneven implementation.
French Hill: The House Financial Services Chair Driving US Digital Asset Market Structure
Representative French Hill — House Financial Services Committee Chair since 2025 — is the architect of the CLARITY Act, the market structure legislation that defines how US securities and commodity laws apply to digital assets.
FSB Under Bailey: Financial Stability Board's New Priorities for Global Crypto Governance
Andrew Bailey's assumption of the FSB Chair in July 2025 — while simultaneously serving as Bank of England Governor — marks a new chapter for global crypto governance, with stablecoin frameworks and implementation gaps as top priorities.
Kristalina Georgieva: IMF's Managing Director and the Evolution of International Crypto Governance
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has overseen the IMF's transformation from outright crypto skeptic to structured policy framework provider — producing the G20 synthesis paper, the CBDC Handbook, and an element-based regulatory approach.
Nikhil Rathi: The FCA CEO Building the UK's Post-Brexit Crypto Framework
FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi has led the UK's crypto regulatory framework development — from financial promotion rules to the comprehensive FSMA-based regime — while navigating post-Brexit regulatory divergence choices and international coordination.
Paul Atkins: The SEC Chair Who Reversed a Decade of Crypto Enforcement
Paul Atkins — confirmed SEC Chair in 2025 — launched 'Project Crypto', announced a token taxonomy, and fundamentally reoriented the SEC from enforcement-first to engagement-first on digital assets. A profile of the most consequential crypto regulator in the world.
Scott Bessent: A Hedge Fund Manager's Approach to Treasury's Crypto Policy
Scott Bessent — Treasury Secretary since 2025 — brings a macro investor's perspective to digital asset policy, viewing dollar-backed stablecoins as an extension of dollar hegemony and crypto broadly as compatible with US financial interests.
Tim Scott: The Senate Banking Chair Who Made America's First Crypto Law
Senator Tim Scott — Senate Banking Committee Chair since 2025 — was the key Senate architect of the GENIUS Act, shepherding America's first federal stablecoin law to passage with a remarkable 68-30 bipartisan vote.
Verena Ross: ESMA Chair and MiCA's Implementation Architect
ESMA Chair Verena Ross is overseeing the implementation of MiCA — the world's most comprehensive crypto regulatory framework — while pushing for greater centralisation of EU crypto oversight in ESMA rather than national competent authorities.