Inside Crypto’s Washington Command Center—and Blitz for Legitimacy
A building on F Street is the engine room of the crypto industry’s push to win favor in the nation’s capital.
The most important real-world address in all of crypto may very well be 1155 F Street in Washington.
The location is a 12-story, glass-paneled office tower that has quickly become the industry’s command center in its bid for securing greater sway in the nation’s capital. Nearly everyone who matters in crypto lobbying efforts has set up shop there over the last several years. Lately, much of the building has been buzzing about the Clarity Act, a piece of proposed legislation that could help crypto gain a greater foothold in mainstream financial markets.
On the third floor is the Blockchain Association, crypto’s most powerful trade group, which represents over 100 companies and investors. The group’s space has a snazzy communal lounge with a marble-countertop pantry, and the association subleases office space to Coinbase and Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, who’ve stashed their own policy advisers there. Up on floor 10 is a nest of newer crypto organizations, including the Solana Policy Institute, which advocates for the Solana blockchain, and the Hyperliquid Policy Center, a five-member team that represents Hyperliquid, the hottest offshore crypto exchange.
Crypto venture firm Paradigm plans to move into 1155 F Street soon. And there are a handful of noncrypto tenants, including SpaceX and Fenwick & West, a Silicon Valley–headquartered law firm. In good weather, people who work in the building congregate on its open-air rooftop.