One of the agencies tasked with monitoring the behavior of stockbrokers and other Wall Street professionals is trying to capitalize on the sudden unemployment of thousands of cryptocurrency workers, Reuters reported.
The ambitions of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, were mentioned Tuesday (June 14) by the group’s chief executive, Robert Cook.
“We’re going to need to be engaged and prepared to have the resources to do (proper regulation), so anybody who is getting laid off from a crypto platform and wants to work for FINRA, give me a call,” Cook said at an industry conference, according to Reuters.
“We are already having to be engaged in the space, and we think that as a result it’s appropriate for us to bulk up our capabilities there,” he said.
According to the news service, FINRA’s new tasks related to cryptocurrency include monitoring the way Wall Street firms handle cryptocurrencies and their customers’ trades in cryptocurrencies. Additionally, FINRA is working on ways to verify ownership of digital assets and monitor activity on blockchains.
Coinbase and Celsius Networks are among companies that have announced sweeping layoffs as a result of the recent plunge in cryptocurrency prices.
See also: Coinbase Cuts Staff by 18% Ahead of ‘Crypto Winter’
Regulation of the crypto space has been unclear at times as the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, FINRA and various other entities carve out new roles. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in May said that until the regulatory framework for crypto is more clear, the SEC “will continue to be the cop on the beat.”
Read more: SEC Chair Steps up Crypto Crusade, Sends Message to CFTC
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