At Messari’s Mainnet conference in New York City, Coinbase CEO and Co-Founder Brian Armstrong announced they were going all in on crypto advocacy in Washington DC. Not long after, Coinbase assembled a group of 45 allies to visit Capitol Hill for two days of conversations with congressional leadership from both sides of the aisle. 

It was the first event of its kind coordinated by the industry to educate policymakers and talk about all of web3’s capabilities, not just crypto. Across the two days, the founders of the Stand With Crypto Alliance broke into cohorts and led round-table discussions where they shared their projects and why they care about this technology to help humanize the space. 

David All was one of the founders present. The long-time political operative and CEO of the nonpartisan web3 coalition FOUND3R, All’s work with ChangeDAO was acknowledged in the Coinbase Giving program. With his previous experience with communications roles in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, and multiple web3 startups, he’s a conduit for both sides. 

“Members of Congress rely on their staff, and they need access to better resources,” All said in a recent interview. “The resources that are available are things they can find online or that lobbyists give them, but what they’re lacking is more education through the lens of the entrepreneurs, builders and innovators.” 

All said the FTX collapse created a political problem around a topic that no one understood in the first place. The Stand With Crypto crew aims to change that by putting a different face on web3 so that everyone in DC understands the capabilities of the technology. 

Web3 is more than crypto

“There was a lot of critical thinking and good questions from the chief of staff and legislative assistants, showing there’s a desire for information that’s not accessible,” he said. “Another whitepaper or draft piece of legislation isn’t going to change the regulatory landscape in the United States. It’s the hearts and minds of everyone in Washington D.C. needs to change.”

Put another way, the only way things pass in Washington is when everyone gets a touchdown, All said. “Yes, it’s football, but everyone gets a touchdown at the exact same time. The same is true for web3 and the next state of the Internet. A big part of it is understanding the entire political vortex in this entire place, from the hideaways of the Capitol to the happy hours around it.” 

It's as much a cultural campaign as it is political. All, and his colleagues at the event, shared a feeling of public service. 

“It’s my civic duty to ensure the people that are making these decisions have professionals they trust that don’t necessarily have a dog in the fight,” he said. “I don’t have pending SEC rulings or anything like that.” 

While leaders such as Representative Patrick McHenry and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer are staunch web3 advocates, All said it’s the entrepreneurs, builders and artists’ stories that will best convince decision makers that all of crypto isn’t a scam. 

According to All, McHenry serving as the temporary Speaker of the House won’t mean much in the interim for web3 as leadership elections are expected to be held soon. However, it’s a step in the right direction at a time when web3 is “lopsided away from America,” as All put it. 

All is now focusing on spearheading events in cities across the country to bring together builders, artists and state representatives to create collaborative solutions to persistent social problems by using web3 technologies. The most recent was held during the Permissionless conference in Austin, Texas to help address problems in the foster care system.