Crypto firms have been increasingly appointing former regulators and lawmakers in recent months. While the officially stated aim of such appointments is to help crypto industry better understand the regulatory landscape, it’s just as likely that the appointees have been enlisted to help firms lobby government and regulatory authorities more effectively.
But it’s not only former regulators and lawmakers who are joining cryptoasset companies, with former executives from the legacy financial system also jumping on the bandwagon. Together with former officials, these execs are not only helping improve the quality of leadership in crypto, but are also helping crypto to step up its lobbying game.
And according to lobbying data available in the United States, the big companies and trade associations are on course to break their spending records in 2021. This might be good news for the entire industry if we assume that claims by trade associations that they pursue the interest of all participants are true.
Coming to the crypto side
The list of ex-regulator/lawmaker appointments in crypto has been growing pretty steadily in 2021. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the most notable recent appointments, including hires of former financial executives:
- March 9 – Bybit appoints Daniel Lim, former head of legal and compliance for Singapore-based investment bank Daiwa Capital Markets.
- March 11 – Binance hires former Senator for Montana Max Baucus to “provide high-level guidance on the organization’s government and regulatory efforts including building strong relations with US authorities and regulators.”
- March 23 – Japanese exchange DeCurret hires former commissioner of the Japanese Financial Services Agency, Toshihide Endo.
- March 25 – Binance hires former Financial Action Task Force execs Rick McDonell and Josée Nadeau to advise on regulatory and compliance matters.
- March 29 – One River Digital Asset Management appoints former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Jay Clayton to its advisory council.
- April 20 – Binance.US hires former US Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks as its CEO, effective from May 1.
- May 24 – Coinbase hires former Goldman Sachs exec Faryar Shirzad as part of its efforts to “navigate the evolving global regulatory environment and work with governments around the world on critical issues surrounding the cryptoeconomy.”
These are only the most notable appointments, yet they create the impression that crypto is really ramping up its efforts to secure favorable regulatory outcomes.
According to Ekaterina Anthony, a board member of the Switzerland-based Crypto Valley Association, such cross-sector appointments indicate that the crypto industry is beginning to mature.
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