FINRA may hire employees terminated from crypto firms: Report

The United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, reportedly plans to “bulk up” its capability to monitor crypto — a move that could include scooping up employees recently terminated from crypto companies.

According to a Tuesday Reuters report, FINRA president and CEO Robert Cook encouraged crypto workers who expect to be on the chopping block to reach out to the financial regulator as part of its efforts to increase resources related to the space. Major crypto exchanges in the United States including Coinbase and Gemini have announced plans to cut staff amid extreme market volatility, likely resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs.

“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,” said Cook. “Anybody who is getting laid off from a crypto platform and wants to work for FINRA, give me a call.”

Roughly 3,600 people currently work at FINRA, according to its website. Many firms registered with the financial regulator can trade stocks or crypto on their clients’ behalf. Cook reportedly said FINRA was working on developing digital asset verification techniques as well as cross-market surveillance on some blockchains.

Related: FINRA orders Robinhood to pay $70M due in part to ‘significant harm’ platform caused users

Some crypto firms based outside the U.S. including Crypto.com — headquartered in Singapore — have announced similar staff cuts during the market downturn. CEO Kris Marszalek said on June 10 that the exchange would be letting 260 employees go in an effort to “ensure continued and sustainable growth for the long term.” However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced on Wednesday that the major crypto exchange had 2000 open positions for which it was hiring.