Crypto’s Revolving Door

Looking for a job in crypto? If so, you may want to try working in the public sector of regulatory bodies for a couple of years. According to the Tech Transparency Project, more than 200 government employees have left to join the digital asset space and lawmakers are taking notice. 

• Democratic Senators Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Elizabeth Warren authored a letter to several financial agencies and government offices. The purpose of the letter was to seek information about the steps each agency is taking to stop the revolving door between the financial regulating agencies and the crypto industry, and requests a response by November 7th.
• The letter was sent to multiple agencies, including the Treasury Department, the SEC, the CFTC, and the FDIC.
• The former regulators are landing positions as advisors, investors, lobbyists, legal counsel, and in-house executives. So far the list includes 31 Treasury officials, 28 SEC officials, 15 CFTC officials, 6 Fed officials, 5 OCC officials, 3 from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and 2 from the FDIC.

These agencies should already have an ethics policy that would prevent employees from leveraging their positions for profit, but that doesn’t stop the private industry from seeking them out for their connections, resources, and specialized knowledge.