Biden's comms director barred from former crypto clients: Report

Decentralized exchange UniSwap and venture capital firm Andressen Horowitz were revealed as former clients of LaBolt in a recently published public financial disclosure report.

United States President Joe Biden will reportedly ban his communications director from handling matters related to any crypto or technology firms he has previously worked with, while allowing him to advise on crypto regulation.

According to an April 22 Bloomberg Law report, the White House communications director Ben LaBolt will be barred from “participating in legal matters, investigations, or contracts involving cryptocurrency or technology firms he previously represented.”

Decentralized exchange UniSwap and venture capital firm Andressen Horowitz – an early investor in Coinbase Global Inc – were both former clients of Bully Pulpit Interactive (BPI), where LaBolt was previously a partner, according to a public financial disclosure report published on April 21.

Both firms were among a list of 23 clients paying fees exceeding $5,000 in a year to BPI.

Ben LaBolt’s Public Financial Disclosure Report. Source: aboutblaw.com

Meta Platforms, Shopify, and West Street – the family office of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg and his wife Priscilla Chan – were also included in the list of 23 clients exceeding $5,000 in a year.

Meanwhile, in the assets and income section, LaBolt disclosed that he holds $50,001-$100,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) and $15,001-$50,000 in Ethereum 2 (ETH2).

“LaBolt’s restrictions are in line with ethics rules followed by other senior White House staff,” the report stated.

Despite the restrictions expected to be put in place, it was reported that LaBolt will be allowed to advise on the president’s approach to regulating cryptocurrency and social media companies.

This comes after Biden signed an executive order (EO) on digital assets on March 9.

While the EO didn’t specify any regulatory actions, it outlined an interagency process that will involve 16 high officials, initially starting with the task of producing an elaborate series of reports.

These reports are due at intervals ranging from 90 days to over a year from the publication of the EO.

The EO attracted attention from government officials and industry leaders alike.

Republican “Crypto Senator” Cynthia Loomis of Wyoming commented on the executive order saying “it’s great to see the Biden administration’s growing interest in digital assets.”

Meanwhile, Ari Redborn, head of legal and government affairs for blockchain-based intelligence firm TRM Labs, said that he was “expecting certain things and the positive tone was not necessarily one of them.”

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