The Briefing Memo from The Department of XYZ

November 2024

November 25, 2024

The Briefing Memo

November 2024 - If you’re new here, welcome to The Briefing Memo, which features our latest insights and updates.

Welcome to the Golden Era of Digital Assets?

The recent US election has been the most discussed topic within the sector for the past six months and the implications of it will continue to dominate the conversation for many months to come. What seems clear today is that it has the potential of becoming the greatest unlock the sector has ever seen for the mass adoption of blockchain technology. Regardless of what anybody’s political views may be, it’s remarkable to take a step back and think that we will have an avowedly pro-crypto President, as well as a pro-crypto Congress on a bipartisan basis — and that the political mobilization of the crypto industry played a real role in this outcome. The change is so stark from the past 4 years it still feels hard to believe. Yet whether this development leads to lasting and durable change depends entirely on what comes next. Locking in these gains will not be automatic. It will require continued prioritization from the White House, Executive Agencies, and Congress — and for us as an industry to speak with a shared voice around a defined and common set of objectives. The Department of XYZ exists to help founders navigate the regulatory landscape, and especially moments of regulatory change like this one that can unlock new opportunities.

3 Questions for Department Advisor Ashley Ebersole

This month we spoke with LP Advisor Ashley Ebersole about about the upcoming change of administration. Ashley shares his advice for the incoming administration, the future of regulation for decentralized systems, and his advice for founders in moments like this.

3 Questions for Department Advisor Ashley Ebersole

Ashley Ebersole is General Counsel at 0x where he leads the organization’s legal, policy, regulatory, and compliance functions. He previously served five years as Senior Counsel at the SEC, both in the Division of Enforcement and Office of General Counsel…

www.departmentofxyz.com/blog/ashleyebersole

Portfolio news

Department updates

  • Matt moderated a panel on the 2025 outlook for institutional investors at the North American Blockchain Summit in Dallas, featuring Matt Hougan of Bitwise, Tushar Jain of Multicoin, Anthony Bassili of Coinbase, and Jennie Levin of Figment. One of the most notable, and perhaps surprising, features of the crypto winter has been the acceleration of institutional adoption of digital assets (e.g. through ETFs and tokenization) and we discussed how 2025 could turbocharge this trend even further. Matt also hosted a dinner for family offices and others where we discussed how investors can prepare for the golden era of digital assets that is emerging.

The breakout moment for stablecoins is here

Stripe's $1.1bn acquisition of Bridge signals more mainstream acceptance of stablecoins among fintech players, especially those eyeing scale-up opportunities in developing markets.

www.venturecapitaljournal.com/the-breakout-moment-for-stablecoins-is-hereWhat we’re reading and listening to

  • LP Advisor Paul Watkins is supporting a legal challenge led by 18 states against the SEC, contesting the agency’s overreach into state regulatory authority over digital assets. The full complaint, which lists Paul as Counsel for the DeFi Education Fund, is well worth a read.

  • LP Advisor Ashley Ebersole spoke with Decential sharing his views on what a Trump Presidency may mean for crypto.

  • Congratulations to LP Advisor Andrew Chang on his appointment to the board of Bitfarms.

  • LP Advisor Tom Brown wrote an op-ed on changes to the Uniform Commercial Code that a create a new digital payment object, which he explains as “the most significant changes to U.S. payment law since passage of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act in 1978.”

What we’re reading and listening to

On the horizon