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Blockchain Industry and Regulatory Leaders Launch Token Alliance

Chamber of Digital Commerce Develops New Initiative to Promote Best Practices for Burgeoning ICO Ecosystem

Washington, D.C., September 18, 2017 – The Chamber of Digital Commerce is pleased to announce the Token Alliance, an industry-led initiative to educate, promote and help shape the responsible growth of token and digital asset issuances. The Token Alliance is co-chaired by former Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Dr. Jim Newsome, and former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner, Paul Atkins.

Token sales or Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) can be a powerful tool for startups and businesses seeking funding through a crowdsale. In 2017 alone, more than 100 token sales raised over $1.5 billion. However, regulatory uncertainty and compliance continues to be a challenge for the industry. The Token Alliance will work with the community to recommend legal frameworks that drive innovation and promote investment, balanced with protections for market participants.

“With the SEC’s recent findings regarding ICOs, combined with the CFTC’s determinations and enforcement, it is clear that proactive industry efforts are imperative and timely,” said Jim Newsome, Founding Partner of Delta Strategy Group and former Chairman of the CFTC. “I look forward to helping shape the dialogue and enable this innovative technology to progress for the benefit of industry and consumers.”

Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomak Global Partners and former SEC Commissioner said, “The Token Alliance will serve a much needed role in helping the industry establish for itself appropriate guidance for this new and exciting asset class. I’m thrilled to be a part of this initiative and bring my service as a former securities regulator to help foster this ecosystem.”

The initial participants of the Token Alliance is comprised of more than 70 organizations including: Alluminate, AlphaPoint, Bankcoin Global, Blake Cassels & Graydon, Bloq, CMT Digital, Cognizant, Cooley, Crowell & Moring, Elliptic, Gem, Hashed Health, Loyyal, Microsoft, Netki, Node40, Parsons & Whittemore, Perkins Coie, Polsinelli, Qtum, Reed Smith, Rimon Law, Rivetz, Steptoe & Johnson, t0 and Tally Capital.

“As with all new technologies, it is important to set appropriate guidelines to curb potential abuse, while protecting innovation,” said Perianne Boring, Founder and President, Chamber of Digital Commerce. “We look forward to working with our members to continue to promote and advocate for the power of the blockchain.”

The Token Alliance is open to participants from across technology, legal, advisory and other sectors, with an expertise in blockchain technology. Companies interested in learning more and participating are encouraged to contact the Chamber of Digital Commerce at: policy@digitalchamber.org.

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About the Chamber of Digital Commerce
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Chamber of Digital Commerce is the world’s largest trade association representing the digital asset and blockchain industry. For more information, please visit: DigitalChamber.org.

Chamber Media Contact
Marie Knowles
+1-202-422-2589
marie@digitalchamber.org

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Newsroom

Fairfax County EDA becomes first local organization to join fast-growing Chamber of Digital Commerce

FCEDA embraces blockchain technology through global trade group

Fairfax County, Virginia, Aug. 15, 2017 – The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) has joined forces with the Chamber of Digital Commerce, making FCEDA the first local member of the Chamber.

The Chamber of Digital Commerce is the world’s leading trade association representing the digital asset and blockchain industry. The Chamber’s mission is to promote the acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies. Through education, advocacy, and working with policymakers, regulatory agencies and industry, its goal is to develop a pro-growth legal environment that fosters innovation, job growth and investment.

“Fairfax County is home to innovative financial institutions and many other businesses that are changing the ways the world works,” said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the FCEDA. “We are excited to partner with the Chamber of Digital Commerce to work with those companies and showcase Fairfax County as a community that embraces the future.”

According to Juniper Research, 57 percent of large corporations are actively considering or in the process of deploying blockchain technology, a shared digital ledger that holds an immutable record of transactions. Two-thirds of that 57 percent said they expect to integrate the technology into their systems by the end of 2018.

“The nascent blockchain technology ecosystem is valued at over $120 billion with the potential to grow into a multi-trillion-dollar industry,” said Perianne Boring, founder and president, Chamber of Digital Commerce. “We look forward to working with the FCEDA to assist Fairfax County and the State of Virginia in harnessing  the power of blockchain to create efficiencies, strengthen cybersecurity and ultimately transform business processes across sectors.”

The award-winning FCEDA promotes Fairfax County as one of the world’s best business locations. The FCEDA and the Chamber of Digital Commerce collaboration will include a number of educational resources for local governments and organizations, including a series of blockchain-related events in the near future.

Time magazine called Fairfax County “one of the great economic success stories of our time.” Business growth and innovation helps Fairfax County fund the nation’s top-rated school system and other public services that contribute to the quality of life of residents. Fairfax County offers businesses a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, access to global markets through Washington Dulles International Airport, a vibrant investment capital community and a highly skilled, well-educated workforce.

The FCEDA offers site location and business development assistance, and connections with county and state government agencies to help companies locate and expand in Fairfax County. In addition to its headquarters in Tysons Corner, Fairfax County’s largest business district, the FCEDA maintains marketing offices in six important global business centers: Bangalore, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Seoul and Tel Aviv. Follow the FCEDA on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About the Chamber of Digital Commerce
The Chamber of Digital Commerce is the world’s leading trade association dedicated to promoting the understanding, acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Chamber is the founder of the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council Smart Contracts Alliance, Blockchain Alliance, Global Blockchain Forum and many other key industry initiatives. For more information, please visit DigitalChamber.org or follow us on Twitter: @ChamberDigital.

 

Chamber Media Contact
Marie Knowles
marie@digitalchamber.org
202-422-2589

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Newsroom

Chamber of Digital Commerce Welcomes Cisco as New Executive Committee Member

August 8, 2017 – Washington, D.C. – The Chamber of Digital Commerce is pleased to announce that worldwide technology leader Cisco is joining its Executive Committee. Cisco joins this rapidly growing trade association dedicated to promoting the acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain technology through education, advocacy, working closely with policymakers, regulatory agencies and industry.

“Cisco has a strong reputation of identifying promising technologies to deliver remarkable innovations to its customers. The company is a leader in security, real-time capabilities and has a track record of building scalable systems,” said Perianne Boring, founder and president of the Chamber. We’re pleased to welcome Cisco to the Chamber and look forward to channeling its expertise as we work to support the blockchain technology ecosystem.”

“We are excited to join the Chamber of Digital Commerce and collaborate with its membership to accelerate this promising technology frontier,” said Anoop Nannra, Head of Blockchain Initiative for Cisco. “To unlock the value of blockchain for public and private sector applications and ensure widespread adoption, we need to collaboratively drive technology standardization, interoperability, and education. There is much work to be done before blockchain truly sees broad-scale adoption, but there are significant opportunities for this transformative technology to drive enterprise value creation.”

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About the Chamber of Digital Commerce
The Chamber of Digital Commerce is the world’s leading trade association dedicated to promoting the understanding, acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Chamber is the founder of the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council Smart Contracts Alliance, Blockchain Alliance, Global Blockchain Forum and many other key industry initiatives. For more information, please visit DigitalChamber.org or follow us on Twitter: @ChamberDigital.

 

Chamber Media Contact
Marie Knowles
marie@digitalchamber.org
202-422-2589

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Newsroom

TD Bank Group Joins Chamber of Digital Commerce Executive Committee

Washington, D.C., July 17, 2017 — The Chamber of Digital Commerce, the leading global blockchain trade association, announces that the Toronto-based TD Bank Group (NYSE: TD) has joined the Chamber’s Executive Committee to work together to promote the acceptance and use of digital assets and related technologies with the goal of developing a pro-growth legal environment that fosters innovation, jobs, and investment.

TD had CDN$1.3 trillion in assets as of April 30, 2017, and ranks among the world’s leading online financial services firms with approximately 11.5 million active online and mobile customers.

“There is no denying that there is a tremendous opportunity to apply blockchain technologies in the world of finance, to provide better, more secure and more economical banking services,” said Chris Owen, vice president, Enterprise Shared Platforms, Blockchain at TD. “However, unlocking this potential will take collaboration and we look forward to working with the Chamber and its members to nurture this thriving ecosystem and accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology.”

Chamber Founder and President Perianne Boring said, “We are excited to welcome TD as our first Canadian bank to the Chamber’s Executive Committee. TD thought leadership is greatly valued as we work together to improve the global financial system with blockchain and distributed ledger technology.”

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About TD Bank Group
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with more than 80,000 employees in offices around the world, The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group. TD offers a full range of financial products and services to more than 25 million customers worldwide through its Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking.

About the Chamber of Digital Commerce
The Chamber of Digital Commerce, headquartered in Washington, DC is the world’s largest trade association dedicated representing the digital asset and blockchain industry. For more information, please visit DigitalChamber.org or follow us on Twitter: @ChamberDigital.

 

Chamber Media Contact
Marie Knowles
marie@digitalchamber.org
202-422-2589

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Newsroom

Chamber of Digital Commerce To Host “Congressional Blockchain Education Day” on July 11^th

Microsoft to co-host the initiative with participation from over 60 blockchain companies on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, DC – July 10, 2017 – The Chamber of Digital Commerce, the world’s largest trade association representing the blockchain industry, is hosting Congressional Blockchain Education Day this Tuesday. Chamber member companies will spend the day meeting with Members of U.S. Congress, Senators and their staffs to bring awareness to the importance of blockchain technology.

The day will also include a smart contracts briefing at 12:00pm in Rayburn House Office Building 2020 featuring a technology demonstration by Symbiont, the technology partner for the Delaware Blockchain Initiative.

Members of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus will address the national gathering of entrepreneurs at a cocktail reception in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center Atrium at 5:00pm.

“A growing number of enterprises are experimenting with blockchain as a secure and transparent way to digitally track the ownership of assets, opening new opportunities for cross-organizational collaboration and imaginative new business models,” said Microsoft Principal Program Manager, Blockchain Engineering, Craig Hajduk. “Microsoft’s vision is to help companies thrive in this era of secure multi-party computation, delivering open, scalable platforms and services that any company, from ledger startups to governments, health organizations to global banks, can use to create new value.”

“We are delighted that so many of the Chamber’s members are flying in to Washington, D.C. to meet with and help educate our legislators and their staff on this breakthrough and potentially multi-trillion-dollar technology,” said Chamber of Digital Commerce Founder and President Perianne Boring. “We’re honored that participants will have the opportunity to hear directly from Members of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus.”

Credentialed press is invited to attend the smart contracts briefing and reception. Please contact Marie Knowles to register.

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About the Chamber of Digital Commerce
The Chamber of Digital Commerce, headquartered in Washington, DC is the world’s largest trade association dedicated representing the digital asset and blockchain industry. For more information, please visit DigitalChamber.org or follow us on Twitter: @ChamberDigital.

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Newsroom

BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon Join the Chamber of Digital Commerce

Washington, D.C., June 12, 2017 — The Chamber of Digital Commerce, the leading global blockchain trade association, announces the addition of BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon, two major international banks, to the Chamber’s Executive Committee.

With a presence in over 70 countries, BNP Paribas is one of the largest banks in the world, serving more than 30 million customers. The institution is also globally recognized as an important innovator in distributed ledger technology. In December 2016, it processed and cleared its first real-time blockchain payments.

“Blockchain technology has the potential to change the way banks work. It presents many advantages such as more transparency, traceability and security for our clients. BNP Paribas continues to explore various possibilities with the Blockchain technology and other innovative tools and looks forward to working closely with the Chamber and its members,” said Sadia Halim, Head of Innovation CIB Americas at BNP Paribas.

BNY Mellon is the world’s largest custodian bank with more than $30.5 trillion in assets in custody and over $1.72 trillion in assets under management. The bank has an established history of innovation in blockchain, including the development of BDS 360, a test system which uses blockchain technology to create a backup record of brokerage transactions.

“Blockchain technology is the future of the transactions in the financial industry,” said Alex Batlin, Global Head of Emerging Business & Technology and Global Blockchain Lead
of BNY Mellon. “Active innovation in these early stages is crucial to identifying and creating the most effective and beneficial implementations. BNY Mellon is proud to be a vocal advocate for distributed ledger technology and we look forward to collaborating with the Chamber.”

“BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon’s membership with the Chamber of Digital Commerce underscores the importance of this technology for major banks, and the power of collaboration at the highest levels of the financial industry to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology,” according to Chamber Founder and President Perianne Boring.

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About the Chamber of Digital Commerce
The Chamber of Digital Commerce is the world’s leading trade association dedicated to promoting the understanding, acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain technology. Through education, advocacy, and working closely with policymakers, regulatory agencies, and industry, our goal is to develop a pro-growth legal environment that fosters innovation, jobs and investment. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Chamber is the founder of the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council, the Smart Contracts Alliance, the Blockchain Alliance, the Global Blockchain Forum and other key industry initiatives. For more information, please visit DigitalChamber.org or follow us on Twitter: @ChamberDigital.

About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 74 countries, with more than 190,000 employees, including more than 146,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.

About BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of March 31, 2017, BNY Mellon had $30.6 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.7 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.

Chamber Media Contact:
Ralph Benko
ralph@digitialchamber.org
Chamber of Digital Commerce

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Newsroom

Chamber of Digital Commerce Forms the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council

March 16, 2016 – Washington, D.C. – The Chamber of Digital Commerce has formed the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council (BIPC), an initiative to promote innovation in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) by addressing intellectual property issues. The council will help balance the protection of proprietary information with the openness necessary for innovation.

The Blockchain Intellectual Property Council will be chaired by Marc Kaufman, Partner at Rimon Law; Patrick Murck, Special Counsel, Cooley & Fellow at Berkman Klein Center at Harvard; and James Murdock, Chief Business Officer and General Counsel at Blockstream.

“I am honored to help shape one of the most important discussions for the blockchain community,” said Kaufman. “Many players are aggressively pursuing patents in the DLT space, and managing patent risk must be a shared priority.”

“Balancing the open source mindset with proprietary technology is an early and critical challenge faced by the blockchain community,” said Murck. “An effective solution must be constructed with input from experts in both law and technology – with an eye to preserving opportunities for permissionless innovation.”

“Openness and collaboration are crucial to ensuring that permissionless innovation both thrives and evolves,” said Murdock. “Preserving these elements as the industry develops will be key to the success of the blockchain ecosystem.”

More than 40 institutions across technology, finance, academia and law have already committed to the council, including Blockstream, Bloq, Civic, Cognizant, Deloitte, Digital Currency Group, Gem, Medici Ventures, Microsoft, T0.com, TMX and Wipfli.

“Developing an industry-led defensive patent strategy is paramount to help protect innovation and drive wide adoption of blockchain-enabled technologies,” said Perianne Boring, Founder and President of the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

The BIPC Co-chairs will be presenting on the IP panel at the DC Blockchain Summit, hosted by The Chamber in Washington D.C., March 15-16. A kickoff meeting is scheduled for March 30, 2017. Academics, blockchain technologists, financial institutions, IP experts, open source communities and others interested in intellectual property issues are encouraged to sign up. Please contact Dan@DigitalChamber.org for additional details.

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About the Chamber of Digital Commerce

The Chamber of Digital Commerce is the world’s leading trade association dedicated to promoting the understanding, acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain technology. Through education, advocacy, and working closely with policymakers, regulatory agencies, and industry, our goal is to develop a pro-growth legal environment that fosters innovation, jobs and investment. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Chamber is the founder of the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council, the Smart Contracts Alliance, the Blockchain Alliance, the Global Blockchain Forum and other key industry initiatives.

For more information, please visit DigitalChamber.org or follow us on Twitter: @ChamberDigital.

Chamber Media Contact:
Erin Tye
Paragon Public Relations
Erin@paragonpr.com
+1.646.558.6226

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Newsroom

Dr. Robert E. Kahn, the “Father of the Internet” to keynote the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s Blockchain Summit

Chamber Membership Grows to Over 100 Representing a Broad Spectrum of Global Industry Thought Leaders

March 15, 2017 – Washington, D.C. – The Chamber of Digital Commerce, the world’s leading blockchain trade association, today announced that Dr. Robert E, Kahn, “the Father of the Internet,” will be keynoting its second annual DC Blockchain Summit.  The Chamber also announced the addition of more than 20 companies to its membership, as it continues to attract blockchain industry leaders across sectors.

The new members represent financial, legal, healthcare, investment and technology industries, including: Ad Meliora, AlphaPoint, Argon Group, BankCoin.Global, Bitcoin IRA, Blockchain Capital, Blockstream, Cooley LLP, Crowell & Moring LLP, Finchain, Frost Brown Todd, Grupo Cimcorp, Hashed Health, IHS Markit, Locke Lord LLP, Milligan Partners, OTC Exchange Network , PokitDok, Unocoin and Vertex. These companies join a membership base that has more than doubled over the past year, now comprising of over 100 members.

“Our expanding membership is a testament to the impact blockchain technology is already having across multiple industries,” said Perianne Boring, founder and president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. “The unique perspectives, skills and experiences that these new members bring to the table will be key in furthering the understanding and adoption of distributed ledger technology.”

The new members are being announced in advance of the sold-out DC Blockchain Summit 2017, hosted by the Chamber of Digital Commerce in Washington, DC in conjunction with Georgetown University. The Summit will be held March 15 and 16, and is available via livestream. The full agenda and livestream are available at digitalchamber.org.

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About the Chamber of Digital Commerce

The Chamber of Digital Commerce is the world’s leading trade association dedicated to promoting the understanding, acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain technology. Through education, advocacy, and working closely with policymakers, regulatory agencies, and industry, our goal is to develop a pro-growth legal environment that fosters innovation, jobs and investment. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Chamber is the founder of the Smart Contracts Alliance, the Blockchain Alliance, the Global Blockchain Forum and other key industry initiatives.

For more information, please visit DigitalChamber.org or follow us on Twitter: @ChamberDigital.

Chamber Media Contact:
Erin Tye
Paragon Public Relations
Erin@paragonpr.com
+1.646.558.6226

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Newsroom

Tax Coalition Forms to Address Digital Asset Uncertainty

March 8, 2017 — WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Chamber of Digital Commerce and Steptoe & Johnson LLP today announce the formation of the Digital Assets Tax Policy Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based coalition created to help develop effective and efficient tax policies for the growing virtual currency markets. The move comes in response to a lack of recent guidance from the Internal Revenue Service, which since 2014 has considered digital currencies to be property, not currency, for tax purposes.

The Digital Assets Tax Policy Coalition intends to help develop policies that work for both the industry and government.  Developing these policies will allow the IRS to implement the recent recommendations by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) that the IRS develop a strategic plan for its virtual currency program and create third-party tools to allow for greater compliance, while minimizing the need for aggressive and burdensome enforcement actions.

Led by the Chamber of Digital Commerce, industry participants include some of the leading exchanges, wallet providers, and transaction processing companies in the digital asset sector.  Steptoe will serve as counsel to the Coalition.

“Clear tax treatment for digital assets is essential to ensure robust growth of this important sector,” said Perianne Boring, president and founder of the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

“We are proud to be working with the industry’s leading companies to engage with policymakers on an issue of vital importance to the sector. Tax solutions that allow the IRS to do its job without resorting to actions such as a John Doe summons will be of benefit to all,” said Jason Weinstein, partner at Steptoe and co-chair of Steptoe’s Blockchain and Digital Currency practice.

“Blockchain and digital asset technologies pose unique challenges to tax administration. We look forward to working with the Coalition to develop policies that minimize compliance burdens for the industry while also providing the IRS the tools it needs to administer the tax code effectively and efficiently,” said Cameron Arterton, of counsel at Steptoe.

The Digital Assets Tax Policy Coalition is another step in the industry’s efforts to proactively engage with government officials on issues of mutual concern. Last year, the Chamber of Digital Commerce co-founded the Blockchain Alliance to serve as a resource for law enforcement and a forum for open dialogue between the private and public sectors about digital assets and blockchain technology.  Steptoe leads and serves as counsel to the Alliance. The Digital Assets Tax Policy Coalition seeks to follow the same approach of open and cooperative engagement with policymakers on issues of mutual concern.

About the Chamber of Digital Commerce
The Chamber of Digital Commerce is the world’s leading trade association dedicated to promoting the understanding, acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Chamber is the founder of the Smart Contracts Alliance, the Blockchain Alliance, the Global Blockchain Forum and many other key industry initiatives. For more information, please visit DigitalChamber.org or follow us on Twitter: @ChamberDigital.

About Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm widely recognized for vigorous advocacy in complex litigation and arbitration, successful representation of clients before governmental agencies, and creative and practical advice in guiding business transactions.  The firm has more than 500 lawyers and other professionals in offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix and Washington.

Steptoe’s blockchain practice has a unique role in the blockchain industry and brings an unparalleled combination of FinTech, financial services, tax, regulatory, and law enforcement experience.  Over the past two and a half years, Steptoe has advised just about every type of participant in the blockchain ecosystem – including investors, entrepreneurs, early stage companies, exchanges, transaction processors, and retailers.  During this time, Steptoe has helped lead efforts to spread the word about the almost limitless possible applications for blockchain technology.  For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.

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Chamber Media Contact
Erin Tye
Paragon Public Relations
Erin@paragonpr.com
+1.646.558.6226

Steptoe Media Contact
Kathy King
Director of Media & Public Relations
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
kking@steptoe.com
+1.202.862.3817

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