Kirstjen Nielsen, who was once a US Department of Homeland Security head, is among the top officials from President Donald Trump’s administration to crossover to the Swiss firm Astra Protocol as an advisor.
Nielsen, a one-time deputy chief of staff for the White House during Trump’s administration, indicated that she would assist Astra with compliance and funding strategies. Astra aims to provide a compliance layer or decentralized finance (DeFi) contracts to meet government rules for combating money laundering.
Nielsen’s first role will be to help the DeFi on its upcoming plans for raising capital and interaction with the US Administration, a task which has already started under Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former budget head, who arrived at Astra Protocol much earlier.
Nielsen hit the headlines for spearheading former US President Trump’s US border security between 2017 and 2019. Also, she was in charge of the immigration policies, which included the hot button issue of the Mexico border.
Nielsen to Help Efficiently Navigate an Ever-Changing Regulatory Landscape
“Nielsen said she was excited by the DeFi evolution and further insisted that what has been missing is a layer of trust. The decentralized legal layer will provide assurance for regulatory compliance and create an excellent dispute resolution mechanism.
Astra Protocol is aiming at providing compliance without compromising the whole concept of decentralization. This will be done using a system of legal audit companies around the globe. However, the fast-growing DeFi platform is yet to seek approval from the US regulatory authority.
Nielsen pointed out that they are able to link users to experts in a decentralized legal network in seconds or minutes. Then, they will add more trust from a legal point of view. As a result, more traditional capital will flow into the DeFi market.
Pooling together Mulvaney and Nielsen could also help improve ties with the country’s officials, especially Republican lawmakers, who had forged ties with the two during the Trump administration. According to Phil Hogan, the former EU commissioner for trade, who now leads Astra’s advisory board, Ms. Nielsen will be vital in helping the company navigate the rapidly changing government and regulatory landscape.
