The Crypto Brief, Oct. 17: Smith Fills Washington's Empty Seat

Patrick Witt Leaves the Council Empty

Witt stepped down as executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets on Oct. 14, 2026¹. He was its third director in fourteen months. David Sacks left in March. Harry Jung left in July. Bo Hines held the job before all three. He left in 2025 to run Tether's American stablecoin arm. The Senate had already failed the Clarity Act's cloture vote, 49 to 50, far short of the 60 votes it needed, on Sept. 15, 2026¹¹. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, had named her price for backing it months earlier. “There must be an enforceable ban, and any market structure bill that leaves enforcement solely in the hands of the president's own Justice Department and allows him to profit from crypto isn't a reform,” she said.

Kristin Smith Returns to Blockchain Association

Smith started Friday as interim chief executive of the Blockchain Association². Summer Mersinger left the job on Oct. 16, 2026, after sixteen months in the role. Mersinger came to the group from a seat as a CFTC commissioner. Smith built the group from a staff of one in 2018. She ran it until last year. Smith framed her return as personal. “Blockchain Association has been part of my life since the day it had a staff of one, and coming back to lead it is personal for me,” Smith said.

Deutsche Bank Sets a Custody Date

Gerald Podobnik co-heads Deutsche Bank's corporate bank³. He said bitcoin and ether custody for German clients is weeks away. Podobnik announced the timeline on Oct. 16, 2026, at IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. The service also covers USDC and EURC. Asian markets get the same tools in 2027. The service skips retail savers and chases corporate treasuries first. BNY Mellon and U.S. Bancorp already run similar desks, so Deutsche Bank is catching up to its own peers.

The OCC Sets an October Deadline

Comptroller Jonathan Gould spoke at DC Fintech Week on Oct. 15, 2026⁴. He said the agency will finish its stablecoin rule by Oct. 31. That rule carries out the GENIUS Act. Congress passed that stablecoin law in July 2025. The rule sets capital and reserve standards for banks and nonbanks that issue stablecoins. Gould moved the October 31 deadline up from his agency's original November target.

Coinbase Lets Businesses Pay in Stablecoins

Marqeta and Coinbase are expanding a six-year partnership to launch stablecoin-funded payment cards⁵. Businesses using Marqeta can now fund cards straight from stablecoin balances. Base, Coinbase's own blockchain, settles the payments. Alec Lovett, Coinbase's head of infrastructure products, explained the pitch. “Our collaboration with Marqeta will combine our stablecoin payment rails with their powerful issuing and processing capabilities to deliver real-time global transactions,” he said. Both companies kept the launch date and the fee secret. Marqeta already powers Coinbase's debit card, live since October 2020.

MoonPay Hires a New CFO

Anne Giviskos becomes MoonPay's chief financial officer, effective Oct. 13, 2026⁶. Giviskos joins from Navan, a travel-payments company. She served there as interim finance chief and chief accounting officer. Her resume also includes stretches at NYSE and Euronext. The hire comes as MoonPay keeps adding products past checkout and cards.

Balaji's Network School Buys Farcaster

Balaji Srinivasan's Network School bought Farcaster from Neynar on Oct. 15, 2026⁷. Terms stayed secret. Neynar co-founders Rish and Manan are leaving the project. Farcaster will become the Network State Protocol. New users must accept a "social smart contract" to join, the app's second owner change this year.

Thailand Opens the Door to Crypto ETFs

Thailand's SEC rules for bitcoin and ether ETFs took effect Oct. 16, 2026⁸. Only bitcoin and ether qualify in this first phase. Funds must trade solely on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Brokers skip margin loans for the funds entirely. A local custodian has to hold every coin the funds buy.

Fission Raises Cash for Tokenized Funds

A $10 million Series A landed at Fission on Oct. 15, 2026⁹. Pantera Capital led the round. Circle Ventures and four other firms joined the round. Fission built a liquidity layer for tokenized investment funds. Its platform skips the standard wait for fund redemption cycles. Jonathan Shaffer, the startup's founder and chief executive, built it to plug that gap.

Schwab Finishes Its Crypto Rollout

Charles Schwab finished rolling out direct bitcoin and ether trading across its retail accounts by Oct. 16, 2026¹⁰. That rollout reaches 40.3 million active brokerage accounts, the company's third-quarter filing shows. Schwab charges a 0.75% transaction fee. The platform adds zero extra spread. Paxos Trust Company handles sub-custody and trade execution. Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink are next by the end of the year.

What to watch

Watch for a new executive director before November's midterms tighten the legislative calendar. The Senate still holds a motion to reconsider the Clarity Act. Kristin Smith's first public remarks will show whether she repeats Mersinger's playbook or starts a new one. Germany gets Deutsche Bank's custody launch within weeks, on the bank's own timeline.

Sources

1. The Block, "Patrick Witt exits White House crypto role as Clarity Act stalls," Oct. 14, 2026, https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-10-14-white-house-crypto-adviser-patrick-witt-departs-418611
2. Blockchain Association, "Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger to Step Down; Kristin Smith, the Association's Founding Leader, to Return as Interim CEO," Sept. 25, 2026, https://theblockchainassociation.org/posts/blockchain-association-ceo-summer-mersinger-to-step-down-kristin-smith-the-associations-founding-leader-to-return-as-interim-ceo
3. Sam Daodu, "Deutsche Bank Is Weeks From Holding Bitcoin and Ethereum for Clients. Could Other Big Banks Follow?" 24/7 Wall St., Oct. 17, 2026, https://247wallst.com/investing/cryptocurrency/2026/10/17/deutsche-bank-is-weeks-from-holding-bitcoin-and-ethereum-for-clients-could-other-big-banks-follow/
4. Sebile Fane, "OCC Targets October End for GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rules," GN Crypto News, Oct. 16, 2026, https://www.gncrypto.news/news/occ-targets-october-end-for-genius-act-stablecoin-rules/
5. Kyle Baird, "Coinbase to power stablecoin-backed cards for Marqeta customers," The Block, Oct. 16, 2026, https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-10-16-coinbase-to-power-stablecoin-backed-cards-for-marqeta-customers-418833
6. PR Newswire, "MoonPay Names Anne Giviskos as Chief Financial Officer," Oct. 13, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/moonpay-names-anne-giviskos-as-chief-financial-officer-302906946.html
7. The Block, "Farcaster acquired by Balaji's Network School, with new 'social smart contract' for users," Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.theblock.co/news/ecosystems/2026-10-15-network-school-acquires-farcaster-from-neynar-418720
8. CryptoBriefing, "Thailand SEC finalizes Bitcoin, Ether ETF rules," Oct. 9, 2026, https://cryptobriefing.com/thailand-sec-finalizes-bitcoin-ether-etf-rules/
9. Pulse2, "Fission Raises $10 Million Series A Led By Pantera Capital For Tokenized Fund Liquidity," Oct. 15, 2026, https://pulse2.com/fission-raises-10-million-series-a-led-by-pantera-capital-for-tokenized-fund-liquidity/
10. Charles Schwab Corp., "Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, Third-Quarter 2026 Results," SEC EDGAR, Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000316709/000031670926000035/a3q26exhibit991.htm
11. Office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, "New Poll Makes Clear: Market Structure Legislation Must Have Enforceable Ban On President Trump Issuing And Profiting From Crypto," Aug. 23, 2026, https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/new-poll-makes-clear-market-structure-legislation-must-have-enforceable-ban-on-president-trump-issuing-and-profiting-from-crypto/