SEC chair has a new senior adviser for crypto

Gary Gensler, chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has hired a new member to his staff who will provide advice on crypto policymaking and interagency work.

The SEC announced that Corey Frayer will be joining Gensler as a senior advisor on the agency’s oversight over cryptocurrencies in a Thursday announcement. Frayer was a member of the Senate Banking Committee’s professional staff and a senior policy advisor for the House Financial Services Committee, along with Maxine Waters (Representative) and Brad Miller (Representative).

Frayer was appointed to the SEC chair’s executive staff along with Jennifer Songer, Philipp Havenstein and Jorge Tenreiro. They will be serving as investment management counsel, operations counsel and enforcement counsel. Gensler noted the “valuable counsel on agency operations, policy enforcement and enforcement” of the new staff members when he appointed them to the team.

The SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network manage digital asset regulation in the United States. However, each jurisdiction has its own rules, which means that there is a patchwork approach crypto firms need to navigate in order to legally operate. Gensler, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 18, will likely continue as the chair of the SEC up to 2026.

Gensler could be affected by Frayer’s appointment to his staff if he appoints Frayer. Although the SEC chair is undoubtedly one of the most knowledgeable people in crypto and blockchain technology, he has expressed concern about exchange-traded funds that are exposed to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). He has been urging crypto projects to register with SEC since the beginning, specifically saying that they should “come in and work with regulators.”

Related: Former US SEC chair says he believes in crypto technology.

In 2022, the SEC’s leadership is likely to change following the departure of Elad Roisman (January) and the expiration in June of Allison Lee’s term. This gives President Joe Biden the opportunity to select financial experts that could have significant influence over crypto policy.