The SEC Wants to Hire a 'Crypto Securities' Advisor

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to hire yet another “crypto specialist."

According to a job posting on USAJobs, an official government jobs portal, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets plans to hire the new legal expert in order to help develop a “comprehensive plan” to address crypto and digital asset securities.

One of the key responsibilities of the new hire would be to apply their "knowledge of federal securities laws to digital asset securities and crypto matters, i.e., broker-dealer, exchange, clearing agency and transfer registrations, exchange product applications, sales and trading practices, etc."

The successful candidate would also serve as the division’s lead representative in the SEC’s FinTech Working Group and as a liaison with the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC’s) Digital Assets Working Group. They will also serve as the division's point of contact for U.S. and international regulators, market participants and the public, according to the ad.

Regarding basic requirements for the role, the applicants must possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree, and must also have an active membership of Federal Bar Association and be in “good standing.”

They must also have 4 years of post J.D. work experience as a practicing attorney, with focus on interpreting and applying laws governing the securities industry, in particular, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, among other regulatory areas.

The role may be offered initially for a two-year trial period and offers a salary in the range of $144,850–$238,787 a year.  The closing date for applications is April 12.

The job posting appears a notable one, marking a likely further step by the SEC toward clearing regulatory gray areas for the cryptocurrency industry in the U.S. Last June, the agency appointed its first-ever crypto czar, Valerie Szczepanik, as associate director of the Division of Corporation Finance and senior advisor for digital assets and innovation.

Szczepanik is charged with coordinating “efforts across all SEC Divisions and Offices regarding the application of U.S. securities laws to emerging digital asset technologies and innovations, including initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies.”

SEC image via Shutterstock