The popular line in D.C. these days is that 2025 is the most important year crypto policy will ever have. Federal agencies are reshaping their digital asset policies at a mile a minute; foundational crypto bills are sprinting through both chambers of Congress; meanwhile, the president continues to enact policies the industry has craved for years.
In response, backers of the world’s biggest blockchains have rushed to set up specialized shops in Washington, to make the most of crypto’s big moment. At the start of the year, the Bitcoin Policy Institute—which previously had only three full-time staff members—tripled in size and set up physical D.C. offices for the first time. Earlier this month, two of Washington’s top crypto lobbyists made waves by joining forces to create the Solana Policy Institute.
So where, among all the noise, is Ethereum?
The dominant blockchain, which birthed decentralized applications and smart contracts at scale, is undeniably one of crypto’s biggest players. But the chain’s leadership has also suffered a reputation, for some time, as caring more about technological principles than the often essential but less lofty task of courting public opinion.
There is no Ethereum-branded policy shop currently active in Washington. Nor are you likely to run into any lobbyist in the city who would describe their job as solely dedicated to advocating for Ethereum during the second Trump administration. But when recently pressed on the question, some of the blockchain’s top political allies argued there’s nothing about that setup that needs to change anytime soon.
