SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Hires Senate Banking Aide to Advise on Crypto Policy

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has hired a senior adviser specializing in cryptocurrency, according to a Thursday announcement.

Corey Frayer, who spent a decade working as a senior adviser to members of Congress before becoming a senior staffer on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs under committee chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), has been tapped for the role.

Gensler’s appointment of a crypto-focused senior adviser is in line with his stated focus on establishing a regulatory framework for crypto, as well as a signal that the SEC could step up its efforts to regulate the industry in 2022.

According to a source familiar with the Senate Banking Committee, Frayer spearheaded crypto policy for Brown – who has been outspoken about his concerns about the risks cryptocurrencies could pose to investors, calling blockchain a “shady diffuse network of online funny money” at a hearing in July – and other top-ranking Democrats.

According to the announcement, Frayer’s new role at the SEC will focus on “policymaking and interagency work relating to the oversight of crypto assets.”

Frayer has a degree in International Economics and Finance from the Catholic University of America.

Read more: SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce Says Washington Doesn’t Need a New Crypto Regulator

Danny Nelson also contributed reporting to this story.