AIP adds crypto-native fellow with MARA and DeFi Education Fund background to Capitol Hill.

Jacob Smagula, who has worked on government affairs at bitcoin miner MARA and currently serves on the policy team at the DeFi Education Fund, is joining the American Innovation Project's Policy Innovation Fellowship. He will be placed with Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres' (D-NY) team, bringing direct industry experience into a congressional office.

AIP, founded in August 2025 and backed by Coinbase, Kraken, Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, and others, runs a two-part fellowship designed to give congressional staff hands-on exposure to emerging technologies. A second fellow, Hugo Swangstu, will serve in the office of Representative Shomari Figures (D-AL).

The appointments reflect a broader push by the crypto industry to ensure lawmakers drafting digital asset legislation have staff who understand the technology from the inside.