Miller Whitehouse-Levine is Lobbying for L1
After crypto policy advocates picked off the low-hanging fruit, Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine breaks down what’s next.
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What Solana Wants from Washington
Ever since the Solana Policy Institute (SPI) launched in March, I’ve been asking its CEO, Miller Whitehouse-Levine, the same question: What does the Solana ecosystem need that the “big tent” industry groups—like the Digital Chamber, Blockchain Association, or Crypto Council for Innovation—aren’t already doing?
To be clear, I don’t mean to suggest SPI is at odds with these organizations. The main groups driving development on the Solana blockchain hold memberships in both the Digital Chamber and the Blockchain Association, and SPI itself is a Blockchain Association member. SPI also frequently co-signs their joint policy letters. I’ve also seen, firsthand, Whitehouse-Levine and SPI President Kristin Smith socializing amicably with the leadership of the very groups they previously led—Whitehouse-Levine previously served as CEO of the DeFi Education Fund, and Smith led the Blockchain Association.
I’m not sure I’ve gotten a satisfying answer yet. But maybe that’s because there isn’t just one reason SPI exists. The group reflects a broader shift in Washington: whereas last year the crypto community was largely unified in opposing the Biden administration, it now faces the challenge of reconciling disparate ideas about how to capitalize on crypto’s good fortune under President Trump. SPI is there to weigh in on all the different debates which will arise.
So far, the industry has picked off the low-hanging fruit. A relatively straightforward stablecoin bill, the GENIUS Act, has been signed into law, and several late-stage Biden-era policies have been overturned in Trump’s first few months in office. Now, however, the focus turns to thornier issues: determining where securities laws apply, deciding which activities should be taxed, and figuring out how to enforce criminal law fairly. And on these questions, there’s no clear industry consensus.
That’s why now is the perfect time to check in with Whitehouse-Levine. Congress is about to head into its August recess, giving lawmakers and policy advocates alike a chance to regroup. Meanwhile, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm — accused of violating money transmission laws that advocates like Whitehouse-Levine argue could kill DeFi under current interpretations — is standing trial in the Southern District of New York. And the White House is preparing to release a sweeping report, which Smith told me could run hundreds of pages, outlining its crypto policy priorities for the months ahead.
Here’s what Whitehouse-Levine had to say.
VI: Why was the Solana Policy Institute created?
MWL: The Solana Policy Institute exists to advocate for policies welcoming of public blockchains, and the folks building businesses, protocols, et cetera, on top of them.
I think our view earlier this year — and I will say, remains our view — is that the entire federal government is quite focused on crypto policy issues right now. That means the groundwork for how this industry will be regulated and treated under the law for the next several decades is being set now. So it’s important for those ecosystems to have a voice in those discussions.
I think the thesis has been borne out given the frenetic pace of crypto policy work going on. And I expect things to continue heating up, especially in the executive agencies. So we've got a lot of work to do over the next four years.
VI: I know I drive you crazy when I ask this question, but I always want to ask it because I think it comes up naturally for a lot of people when they read about a Solana-specific policy institute. What was the Solana ecosystem not getting, or not going to get, in this crypto-focused political environment that they do get now that you’re in the room for big policy discussions in DC?
MWL: I mean, I think that's exactly it. There's an appreciation that these decisions are going to affect how the ecosystem develops. I don’t think there was a specific policy item, or discrete policy issue, in mind. Rather, there’s the hundreds that have already been discussed, and will be discussed over the next couple of years, that are going to matter to everyone. You want to be in the room, and at the table, for those conversations.
VI: So it’s kind of like a name recognition thing? Like, if someone from the Solana Policy Institute is there in front of a lawmaker, now that lawmaker is thinking about Solana, specifically, as one of the important stakeholders?
MWL: Not just that, but if we have views, we're going to share them. And that's not possible without folks on the ground.
VI: Can you tell us a little more about yourself? I reviewed your resume before this and, aside from a short stint at McDonalds, you’ve always worked in policy. I don’t see a lot of crypto, or even tech experience, before you joined the Blockchain Association in 2019. So can you tell us a little bit more about how you got into crypto, and why you’re the best person to run this organization?
MWL: Ah yes, my McDonalds career!
Jokes aside - sure. I first got into crypto as a personal interest in 2013, 2014. I was living out in China with a host family and they were party members. That was a very interesting time to be living in China, and an interesting environment in which to be a young person. It was quite jarring living out there.
At the time, United States politics wasn't as ever-present in our lives as it is today. And in China, you know, everything is downstream of politics in a way that is very visceral and evident in one's everyday life. So, of course, the expat community in Beijing was talking about this thing called Bitcoin.
I was immediately attracted to what the technology was trying to do — the ideological motivations of it. I think that, for the most part, technological development over the last 50 years has empowered centralized actors, be they businesses or state actors, relative to the power and agency of individuals. And I think decentralized networks are an outlier in that they can do the opposite. They can empower individuals in a way that I think is unique among the range of technologies we've seen emerge over the last couple of decades. So that is why I got into crypto and was excited about Bitcoin and remains the reason I am excited about it.
So, I knew I wanted to get into crypto. But in 2013, 2014, there were no roles for non-technical folks like myself. I'm not an engineer, unfortunately, so there wasn't a role for me. But by 2018, there was more of an industry. The Blockchain Association had launched. And it was the perfect way to merge my personal desire to get into crypto and work on crypto issues with my non-technical skill set.
VI: What have been the major wins and losses (or if not losses, hurdles) since starting SPI 4 months ago?
MWL: We’ve seen major wins this year. The GENIUS Act’s enactment is a historic moment for the dollar, and the successful CRA resolution overturning the IRS’s illegal “broker” rule represents a fundamental win for disintermediation!
Bipartisan supermajorities have supported five of the five floor votes on crypto bills this year—itself an anomalous statement in recent history. Twelve months ago, crypto developers and businesses were feeling the bite of the prior administration’s “whole-of-government” attempt to suppress the development of decentralized systems in the United States. Now, we have a federal framework for stablecoins and the first federal crypto bill ever signed into law – that's a massive shift.
But while it’s been an incredible four months, our most fundamentally important policy issue remains unaddressed: the DOJ’s misapplication of money transmission laws in cases against developers like Roman Storm. Taken to its logical conclusion, DOJ’s theory could extend criminal liability to every crypto developer since Satoshi—and Satoshi. This sword of Damocles must be addressed for any other policy success to have lasting meaning.
VI: Can you list the five votes? Maybe I’m stupid, but I don’t have the same count.
MWL: I debated that number too, Veronica. But I landed on five:
The Senate CRA Resolution vote
The House CRA Broker vote
The Senate GENIUS Vote
The House GENIUS Vote
The House CLARITY Vote
VI: So you don’t count the House vote on the Anti-CBDC bill last week?
MWL: I debated, but I decided to exclude that.
VI: Why don’t you consider that a crypto vote?
MWL: I don’t view CBDCs as being a crypto issue. They’re a sovereign currency issue.
VI: Of course, the fight to pass crypto legislation has been one of the biggest stories so far this year, and “crypto week” last week was a chaotic, but eventful, part of that story. Can you explain the procedural issues, and what ultimately happened?
MWL: Crypto Week was action-packed! The House of Representatives was set to consider the GENIUS, CLARITY, and Anti-CBDC bills all in one week. A procedural vote to bring those bills to the floor for a vote failed Tuesday amid disagreements within the Republican party. But by Thursday, House leadership brought the three bills up for three separate votes.
All three bills passed the House on Thursday. GENIUS passed and was signed into law by the President, while CLARITY and the Anti-CBDC Acts have moved to the Senate for consideration.
VI: Will there be any developments while Congress is on August recess next month?
MWL: The Senate will continue working on market structure legislation throughout August, and the agencies will keep working too. We're actively engaged with the SEC on Project Open, our regulatory proposal for tokenized equities markets on public blockchains. We’re looking forward to making progress on all fronts in August.
VI: Why does tokenizing equities matter for developers? I think a lot of people understand why it matters for traders and investors, but what about the rest of the ecosystem?
MWL: I think the developers that you're referring to are building the new financial infrastructure that will be a public good on the internet that anyone can use. Right now, the universe of assets in this ecosystem are generally crypto-native assets. But there's no reason that folks shouldn't be able to enjoy the innovations that these developers have brought with other assets. So the goal is to expand the universe of assets that folks can have on-chain and use in their daily lives.
VI: What about tax legislation? We haven’t heard much from the White House on the tax bills in Congress. Do you foresee any action there?
MWL: There's definitely an appetite in Congress and the Executive for crypto taxation reforms that will give taxpayers clear and fair guidance on how they should determine what they owe. We're working directly with Treasury and the IRS on guidance around token classification, staking, and DeFi structures.
VI: What does “working with” Treasury (or a member of Congress, or the White House, or the SEC, or any other government office) look like? I don’t think a lot of the people who are not hands-on in policy themselves understand what people like you mean when they say they’re “working with” Treasury.
MWL: It essentially means you’re trying to convince them to take action on your policy priorities. It’s advocacy.
VI: Is it primarily taking meetings? Or is there more to it?
MWL: Not exactly. For example, on Tuesday the Senate Banking Committee put out a Request for Information for written commentary and ideas on market structure. That’s an example of written notice and comment. For Project Open, we’ve submitted a bunch of written submissions. So it can take a lot of forms.
VI: How much do people come to you with questions versus you just sending information and pitching them on ideas?
MWL: That’s changed over time. From 2018 to 2024, it was 100% one way, from us to policy makers. I would say it's 80/20 now. To be clear, that should not reflect poorly on Congress or policy makers — they're working on a lot, at all times. These folks have a lot of priorities, and I think one of the primary reasons to have folks on the ground in Washington is to make sure your priorities are being talked about and are at the top of the list.
VI: To wrap up, what are the issues people aren’t talking about enough?
MWL: 18 USC 1960 (the prohibition of unlicensed money transmitting businesses)! And the Roman Storm trial! The use of unlicensed money transmission law against developers. I care about nothing more.
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