Capitol Hill War Stories from a DC Lobbyist Who’s Seen It All (SBF, Gensler, Elizabeth Warren)

Crypto policy in Washington has gone from punchline to power center. David sits down with Ron Hammond, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Wintermute, for a rare inside look at how crypto actually moves through DC: the SBF era, Elizabeth Warren’s anti-crypto army, Gary Gensler’s SEC, bank lobby pressure, Trump’s crypto conflicts, the Clarity Act fight, and why privacy and self-custody may be the next major battleground.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Becoming “Captain Crypto” in DC
4:03 From Joke to Serious Political Force
6:19 Why Crypto Punches Above Its Weight
10:28 How SBF Captured Washington
13:26 The FTX Fallout in Capitol Hill
16:25 Elizabeth Warren and Crypto’s Proxy Wars
19:04 How DC Letters Actually Get Written
25:33 How Powerful Is the Crypto Lobby?
27:28 Who Is Playing on Crypto’s Side?
31:01 Democrats, Gensler, and the 2024 Lesson
35:07 The Gensler Era and Prometheum
41:21 Will Warren Ever Pivot?
43:20 Trump, the Crypto Ball, and World Liberty
49:30 Will the Clarity Act Pass?
53:30 Privacy, Self-Custody, and the Next Front
56:23 The Social Side of Crypto in DC

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RESOURCES

Ron Hammond
https://x.com/RonwHammond

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