S3 E13 | Access and Inclusion Through Policy w/Sumedha Deshmukh

On this episode of Rehash we sat down with Sumedha Deshmukh from Crypto Council for Innovation to discuss the intersection of blockchain, policy, inclusion, and accessibility.

Sumedha first became interested in blockchain through the lens of how it could support international development. As a natural skeptic, she began researching blockchain on her own before turning her findings into a video guide for other development practitioners. Over the course of this project, Sumedha became even more interested in the blockchain space and later made the jump by joining the World Economic Forum’s Blockchain and Digital Assets team in 2018.

Diana starts off our discussion with a big question - wen meaningful policy? Sumedha explains how crypto’s history has been ironically plagued by barriers to entry and how that has impacted its adoption by the general public as well as its treatment by legislators. Although the space has developed drastically over the last decade, regulatory organizations are still waiting to see what real world impact blockchain could have before they give it more of their attention. Sumedha also gives us her thoughts around how policy makers could begin protecting consumers without stifling innovation.

During our conversation, we also dive into redistributing wealth and power, self custody, diversity in web3, and how mainstream news cycles influence crypto policy.

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Rehash: https://twitter.com/rehashweb3

Diana: https://twitter.com/ddwchen

Sumedha: https://twitter.com/sumdesh

CCI: https://twitter.com/crypto_council

⌛ TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

0:34 Sponsors

4:09 Welcome Sumedha!

4:50 Sumedha’s background

9:50 Policy against bad actors in crypto

13:28 Protecting consumers without stifling innovation

18:21 Policy surrounding decentralization

24:54 Embracing crypto policy

29:08 Redistributing wealth and power with crypto

34:54 Diversity in web3

37:15 The perfect scenario for web3 policy

40:12 Fun questions!

46:35 Follow Sumedha!

🤝 SPONSORS

Lens Protocol: https://lens.xyz

Avenue: https://avenue.place

Govrn: https://govrn.app

DISCLAIMER: The information in this video is the opinion of the speaker(s) only and is for informational purposes only. You should not construe it as investment advice, tax advice, or legal advice, and it does not represent any entity's opinion but those of the speaker(s). For investment or legal advice, please seek a duly licensed professional.