Top Washington lobbying firm adds bitcoin to list of issues

D.C.-based lobbying firm Peck Madigan Jones is no stranger to influencing how lawmakers view the world of finance. With a client list that includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Insurance Association, Wells Fargo Securities and MasterCard, the bipartisan firm makes no secret of its ability to sway the thinking, and the voting, of the Washington elites. In their latest Lobbying Disclosure Act filing (LD-2), PMJ disclosed a new issue on their lobbying agenda.

Interchange fees, gift cards, overdraft fees, data breach, identity theft, Bitcoin and mobile payments.

The document doesn’t reveal whether PMJ will be lobbying for or against bitcoin, or which of their long list of clients pushed this new topic to such a high priority place in their agenda. While PMJ does represent a number of entrenched banking and investment interests (Mid-Sized Bank Coalition of America, MasterCard, NYSE Euronext, CIT Group), many of those parties as just as likely to see bitcoin as a promising investment as they are a disruptive force.

Although there is no way to know the firm’s intentions barring a further revelation, given the context of the disclosure, with bitcoin included in a list with mobile payments, gift cards and interchange fees, it’s likely that PMJ’s clients are pushing for legal protections allowing them to participate in the bitcoin market, rather than to push for regulation against it.