butterscotch is the only media outlet exclusively covering news about inclusion in Web3, DeFi, crypto. CHEWS is our inaugural, weekly newsfeed, providing timely policy updates, industry trends, market research.      

Have News To Share?

Send tips to cleve@butterscotch.media

Follow Us: 

Cleve Mesidor's latest Forbes article reflects on pivotal 2025 moments in policy, spotlighting the crypto ball, leadership changes at top trades, and Democratic votes favoring crypto.

Read Here

Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, the last Democrat at the SEC, has left the agency with only Republican Commissioners remaining.

According to reports, the Senate Banking Committee is expected to schedule a markup for digital assets market structure legislation on Thursday, January 15. 

A new IRS academic study provides a rare look at who is reporting cryptocurrency activity for tax purposes: Crypto sellers skew younger, report lower taxable income, are less likely to itemize deductions, and display trading behavior broadly associated with retail investors versus sophisticated crypto-whales.

The findings also broadly suggest the IRS’s current crypto reporting system may be disproportionately capturing lower-income and less sophisticated retail traders but missing a meaningful share of higher income and wealthy investor activity. [Read Report]

Everyday consumers, non-traditional investors, new entrants to financial markets, entrepreneurs are also calling for regulatory clarity for digital assets. It is not just the crypto-native industry pressuring policymakers to take action and delay no more. 

Because of blockchain technological innovations and alternative, decentralized financial products, individuals who were previously locked out of financial markets are participating at record rates in the U.S. and globally. 

And they have no intention of reverting back to a financial system and a marketplace that works for the few. 

Wealth creation is an intergenerational goal that Boomers, GenXers, Millennials, GenZ, as well as Gens Alpha & Beta, all share. Kicking the can down the road may be a convenient government fallback, but it is no longer a viable option. 

The X-Factors want regulatory clarity now.

They are no longer invisible-figures, in the blindspot of Washington. They are insisting on responsible policies that foster innovation, along with guardrails that do not exclude, but empower!

Policymaking and rulemaking is hard work. Officials need to reimagine financial regulations for the future of banks, fintechs, and DeFi. 

Get to working Washington! 

Cleve Mesidor is a Delegate for World Woman Davos taking place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum and will contribute to discussions at the #WorldWomanHouse.

I am excited to kick off 2026, embarking on my first trip to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where global leaders from government, business, civil society and academia will convene. 

It is with intention that I represent Blockchain Foundation at this  transformative international gathering designed to foster bold, collective action. For the work that I lead at the intersection of crypto and policy, this excursion is particularly timely.

While blockchain and cryptocurrency are truly borderless, policy and regulatory debates, however are often siloed by jurisdictional and/or regional limitations. Forums, like WEF in Davos, that remove geographic barriers and bring together leaders with different perspectives to engage in thought-provoking discussions to tackle pressing issues and spark meaningful engagement, are ripe for catalytic impact. 

Across the globe, decentralized finance has made it possible for a critical mass - large segments of the world who have been locked out of the financial system - to finally access the global marketplace. And as a result, governments are scrambling to play catch up, as central banks contemplate new rulemaking. What are solutions to complex challenges like this? 

The reality is there are more questions than answers to the world's problems. After all, how do we contemplate a future that keeps sprinting past us?

So, I will spend one week trekking through the snow on magic mountain to scrutinize and reimagine the fusion of emerging technologies often dubbed as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  

I’m thrilled that I was approved to attend the WEF Open Forum focused on “Visions of 2050.” The agenda includes sessions on responsible innovation of AI, quantum, blockchain. It will be a great opportunity for thought-leadership, beyond the subconscious ‘group-think’ that often clouds reasoning. 

My schedule also includes curated dialogues at the Forbes Davos Hub, which I’m looking forward to as a Forbes Contributor in the U.S. 

Of course, I’m also excited for the crypto programming of Global Blockchain Business Council, The Digital Economist, The USA House, and other Web3 and DeFi side events.  

2026 is shaping up to be a significant policy year for crypto in the United States. And I’m confident my experience in Davos will position me to add new value, bring fresh perspective, and brainstorm unique strategies to help advance a robust framework for the future of digital assets and blockchain technology that fuels global competitiveness. 

-- Cleve Mesidor

butterscotch is a digital news studio broadcasting stories about Black, Latino, Indigenous DeFi retail investors, Web3 consumers, founders, executives, officials. The virtual newsroom - featuring eNews, Podcast, Live Events – seeks to deepen mainstream understanding of diverse segments of the emerging $4 trillion crypto industry.

Cleve Mesidor, CEO & Managing Editor

Ashlynn Mesidor, CTO & Co-Founder