Catenaa, Saturday, January 31, 2026- The American Innovation Project launched a fellowship program for recent college graduates to provide crypto expertise to lawmakers as Congress moves toward regulating the cryptocurrency industry.
Funded by Coinbase and a16z, the program targets graduates from spring 2026 or earlier.
Fellows will complete a multi-week virtual curriculum on emerging technologies, including crypto, artificial intelligence, biotech, and defense tech, before year-long placements in congressional offices on the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees.
Participants will receive a stipend, with all costs covered by the nonprofit, which aims to educate policymakers on emerging technologies.
The program will allow fellows to work alongside offices from both major political parties.
Congressional efforts to regulate the crypto sector have accelerated over the past year.
The House passed the Clarity Act over the summer, dividing oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On the Senate side, market structure legislation is awaiting a vote in the Senate Agriculture Committee, while the Senate Banking Committee has yet to schedule a new hearing after negotiations stalled.
Several crypto-focused entities back AIP, including Kraken, Coinbase, the National Cryptocurrency Association, Paradigm, the Solana Policy Institute, and the Digital Currency Group.
The organization also received seed funding from the Cedar Innovation Foundation and $1 million from Digital Currency Group.
The fellowship is intended to equip Congress with staff familiar with complex crypto systems, supporting lawmakers as they shape technology policy affecting the United States’ global leadership in emerging industries.
