Chris Land

Chris Land is a legal and policy professional whose work has focused on financial regulation, digital assets, constitutional law, and legislative policy. He is Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Digital Assets and General Counsel to U.S. Senator Cynthia M. Lummis, and previously worked on Wyoming's digital asset legislation and banking regulation. ^[1]

Education

Land graduated from Florida State University with a BS in History and Political Science in 2011. He later attended the University of London, where he earned his Master of Laws in Legislation in 2013. In 2016, Land received his JD in Constitutional Law from the University of Minnesota’s Law School. ^[3]

Career

Land began his career in government and legislative roles, including positions with the Florida House of Representatives, the United Kingdom's House of Commons, and the Executive Office of the Governor of Florida. He later worked as a legal intern for the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, where he focused on Social Security, separation of powers, statutory interpretation, and congressional procedure. While attending law school, he served as a judicial extern for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and as a student director and certified student attorney at the University of Minnesota Law School's Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic.

From 2016 to 2017, Land served as Deputy Legislative Counsel for the Nevada Legislature, drafting legislation and constitutional amendments and advising legislators on constitutional issues. He subsequently joined the Wyoming Legislature as Staff Attorney and Committee Counsel from 2017 to 2019, including work with the Blockchain Task Force and development of Wyoming's blockchain, digital asset, and financial technology legislation. He also served as a Research Fellow at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, focusing on constitutional law and the legislative process.

From June 2019 to December 2020, Land was General Counsel of the Wyoming Division of Banking, where he advised the Banking Commissioner on banking, trust company, fiduciary, money transmission, and consumer credit matters and worked on implementing Wyoming's digital-asset and financial technology legislation. In January 2021, he became General Counsel to U.S. Senator Cynthia M. Lummis, providing legal counsel on financial services, legislation, and constitutional and judiciary matters. Since January 2025, he has also served as Staff Director of the Senate Banking Committee's Subcommittee on Digital Assets, overseeing its operations and advising its chairman on digital-asset and financial-innovation policy. ^{[2] [4]}

Presentations

Payment Stablecoin Act

In an April 2024 presentation at PGP for Crypto, Land discussed stablecoin legislation introduced by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand, focusing on the proposed framework's approach to responsible innovation, consumer protection, and the division of regulatory authority between federal and state governments. He explained that the legislation sought to preserve the U.S. dual banking system while establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers and maintaining U.S. competitiveness in the sector. Land discussed provisions addressing the receivership of failed issuers and the treatment of algorithmic stablecoins, noting that some provisions could change during the legislative process. He expressed cautious optimism that the bill could advance through Congress, potentially during the 2024 lame-duck session, while emphasizing the importance of bipartisan support and legislative compromise. Land also addressed questions about algorithmic stablecoins such as DAI and Frax, emphasizing the complexity of the policy issues and the need to balance detailed regulatory considerations with the broader objective of passing stablecoin legislation. ^[6]