Bill Hughes

Lawyer in Washington, DC

Hi! I'm Bill, and I work on law and policy where new technology meets government.

I'm the Vice President of Legal & Policy at RoboStrategy, where I handle legal, compliance, and how the firm engages with policymakers on humanoid robotics and physical AI. Before that I spent five years as Senior Counsel at Consensys, the company behind MetaMask, in the middle of the crypto policy fight in Washington: self-custody wallets, DeFi, market-structure legislation, and a lawsuit against the SEC that the SEC ended up dropping.

Earlier I was an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice and a Special Assistant to the President at the White House. I started out clerking for a federal judge in New York and litigating at Sullivan & Cromwell. I'm a UVA Law and Vanderbilt grad, and a long-suffering Commanders fan.

You should follow me on X, where I write about all of this in plain English.

Here's my recent writing and appearances

Public petition: revive, amend, and pass the Clarity ActSep 16, 2026After the Senate's 49–50 failure to proceed, my petition and legislative audit asking Congress not to treat the motion as the end of the file.
#congress #crypto #policy #petition
America is handing the crypto market to foreign competitors. The CLARITY Act would change that.May 8, 2026Why the Senate needs to pass market-structure legislation before the midterms eat the calendar.
#crypto #congress #policy
Big banks want to freeze innovation. History says that's a mistake.Jan 14, 2026On the push to ban stablecoin yield, and what past financial reforms teach about protecting incumbents.
#crypto #banks #policy
Do not shortchange innovationJan 14, 2026Consumer choice over bank protectionism in the CLARITY Act debate.
#crypto #policy
Testimony: American Innovation and the Future of Digital AssetsApr 9, 2025Witness before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
#congress #testimony #crypto
What Consensys' victory over the SEC means for Ethereum and MetaMaskMar 5, 2025Thinking Crypto, after the SEC dismissed its case against Consensys.
#sec #podcast #crypto
Changing political tides in DC, and Consensys' SEC lawsuit2024Law of Code, episode 139, on the case Consensys brought in Texas federal court.
#sec #podcast
"It can be said with confidence the SEC is investigating Ethereum"Apr 18, 2024CoinDesk interview on the SEC's posture toward Ethereum, ETFs, and decentralized software.
#sec #crypto
Testimony: Crypto Crime in ContextNov 15, 2023Witness before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion.
#congress #testimony
The IRS should heed this warningNov 13, 2023On the digital-asset broker reporting rule.
#tax #crypto
Ripple's legal win means it's time for crypto to stand up to the SECJul 14, 2023Enforcement by lawsuit is not a regulatory framework.
#sec #crypto
SEC's DeFi rulemaking do-over falls shortJun 12, 2023The reopened "exchange" definition still sweeps in software.
#sec #crypto
Four reasons U.S. lawmakers shouldn't back Sen. Warren's latest crypto billFeb 15, 2023The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, read closely.
#congress #crypto
Money crypto vs. tech cryptoDec 7, 2022Law of Code, episode 74. The distinction that explains most of the policy fights.
#podcast #crypto
Money crypto versus tech cryptoNov 7, 2022The essay version.
#crypto #policy
The right tax treatment of staking rewards is clear: taxation only after saleApr 18, 2022Newly created property is not income until you sell it.
#tax #crypto
A new SEC definition for "exchanges" has big implications for cryptoApr 5, 2022The first warning about the rule that would later target DeFi.
#sec #crypto

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Before Congress

I've testified twice as a witness before the U.S. House: on illicit finance and digital assets before Financial Services in 2023, and on on-chain tools for the real economy before Agriculture in 2025.

Career

2026 —Vice President, Legal & Policy
RoboStrategy
2021 – 2026Senior Counsel & Director of Global Regulatory Matters
Consensys (MetaMask)
2022 – 2026Board Member
Blockchain Association · also Legal Advisor, Ethereal Ventures
2019 – 2021Associate Deputy Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
2017 – 2019Special Assistant to the President
The White House
EarlierLitigation Associate · Federal Law Clerk
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP · U.S. federal court, New York
EducationJ.D., University of Virginia School of Law
B.A., Vanderbilt University

See the career at a glance

Find me

On X, GitHub, or LinkedIn, or through RoboStrategy.