Paradigm's Policy Council adds Van Jones and key former Trump aides, among other political operatives

Crypto venture capital firm Paradigm added six new members to its bipartisan Policy Council, which advises the firm on political matters.

The new members include a mix of Democratic and Republican operatives: left-leaning CNN host Van Jones, Ambassador Robert C. O'Brien, who served as National Security Advisor during President Trump's first term, former Trump aides Johnny DeStefano and Alexander B. Gray, and Democratic advisors Jen Brown and Kyle Layman. 

The new members join seven existing members , which include former Senator Pat Toomey, former Representative Steve Israel, and other high-level political operatives. Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who previously served on the council, appears to no longer be listed on the firm's website.  

"We are fortunate to have [the Policy Council's] expertise as we work to help put the misguided era of anti-crypto policy firmly in the rearview mirror," Paradigm wrote. 

Paradigm's Policy Anchors

The firm also shared its "Policy Anchors," a set of principles that guide its engagement with public policy and regulation.

"They are designed to be general enough to apply to a wide range of policy issues while also giving us a set of guardrails that keep us aligned with what’s best for crypto in the long term," Paradigm said . 

The Policy Anchors call for regulation that supports open crypto development without choking off development with one-size-fits-all regulatory approaches. 

"Actors responsible for fraud, scams, and other illegal activities should be punished following due process of law...However, regulation should not prohibit general-purpose technology that has many lawful uses," one of the Policy Anchors stated, in a reference to cases such as the U.S. prosecution of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm.

Paradigm recently donated $1.25 million to Storm's defense. 

“The prosecution’s case threatens to hold software developers criminally liable for the bad acts of third parties, which would have a chilling effect in crypto and beyond,” Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang wrote on social media platform X. “We must stand with [Storm].”

Paradigm's Anchors said that sensible regulation has a place in the crypto industry.

"Pulling crypto into the regulatory perimeter could increase mainstream adoption by providing regulatory/legal clarity for builders and entrepreneurs...However, regulation can also hamper innovation by creating additional costs for businesses and by arbitrarily limiting the scope of 'approved' activities," Paradigm wrote.