Past Government Regulators Who Now Shill Crypto

By Kevin • April 27, 2022 2:03 pm • Comments

People who work at government agencies often move on to the private sector afterwards and this typically happens in many industries.

Currently, we are seeing the same trend now with the crypto industry where regulators who used to work for agencies like the SEC or the Treasury Department are now joining major crypto firms.

The moves may likely be influenced by the financial incentives that crypto now offers and we now also see a complete shift in their attitudes towards crypto.

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When they were working as regulators, they may public criticized the downsides of crypto and described it as a risky asset that existed to scam investors.

But the moment they leave their positions, we see that many of them start praising the industry and invest themselves.

Gizmodo shares some examples of past regulators who have done just this:

Scott Bauguess, former SEC Deputy Director, was hired by Coinbase to become the VP of Global Regulatory Policy in February of 2022. Bauguess worked at the SEC for 12 years.

Michele Korver worked as the Chief Digital Currency Advisor at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). And last month she announced she’d be moving over to become the Head of Regulatory at venture capital firm a16z.

Jay Clayton, former head of the SEC from 2017 until 2020, was hired to be an advisor by Fireblock, an Israel-based crypto firm worth $2 billion, according to Forbes. Clayton also advises One River Digital Asset Management, a $2.5 billion crypto hedge fund.

Christian Sabella, former deputy director at the SEC, was hired by Coinbase in June of 2021. Sabella worked at the SEC for over a decade, according to CoinDesk.

These are just a few examples out of a long list of regulators who have taken the same approach.

As a result, speculators should always take the words of public officials with a grain of salt as their actions do not always match what they say.

This complete 180 degree change when it comes to perspective on crypto is also very prevalent among members of traditional financial institutions as well and is not just limited to former members of regulatory agencies.

For example, there have been former executives from firms like Goldman Sachs and Blackrock who have previously spoken out against crypto and cited the inherent risks of crypto being like a financial bubble.

With that being said, such executives have quit and moved on to positions at crypto firms where they now support crypto.

Former CEO of Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein is an example who has recently changed his views on the industry.

CNBC reports:

Former Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein said his view of cryptocurrencies has evolved after digital assets attracted trillions of dollars in value and a rapidly growing ecosystem.

On Monday, Blankfein was asked by CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on “Squawk Box” for his view on the nascent asset class, who noted that the former banker has voiced skepticism in the past.

“Look, my view of it is evolving,” Blankfein said. “I can’t predict the future, but I think it’s a big thing to be able to predict the present, like, ‘What is happening?’ And I look at the crypto, and it is happening.”

The next time a government regulator criticize crypto or a particular digital asset, it is likely that they’ll be shilling it a few years down the line.

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