Katherine Ross

Crypto exchange Coinbase, which disclosed receipt of an SEC Wells notice <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-serves-coinbase-in-latest-alleged-crypto-securities-violation">last month</a>, was not the only major crypto company in the regulatory crosshairs. Payments provider BitPay was dealing with its own regulatory troubles.



In an underreported settlement, BitPay and the New York State Department of Financial Services (<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/nydfs">NYSDFS</a>) came to terms on March 16, after the regulator said the company failed to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering laws and cybersecurity regulations.



“BitPay has fully cooperated with the NYSDFS and is pleased to have resolved this matter. The settlement concerned historical shortcomings in BitPay’s regulatory programs identified in a 2018 and 2021 examination conducted by NYDFS,” BitPay CEO Stephen Pair told Blockworks.&nbsp;



NYSDFS said that it first examined <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/bitpay" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BitPay</a> from July 2018 to December 2018, and “found deficiencies” in regard to its cybersecurity regulations and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance programs. 



“The Virtual Currency Regulation requires that Licensees establish an effective AML program, that, at a minimum, shall provide a system of internal controls, policies, and procedures designed to ensure ongoing compliance with all applicable AML laws, rules and regulations,” the <a href="https://www.dfs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2023/03/ea20230316_bitpay.pdf">settlement</a> said. The program requires an independent test from personnel at a “regulated entity.”



Similarly, New York’s cybersecurity regulation requires companies to “conduct a periodic risk assessment…to inform the design of the cybersecurity program and update such risk assessment(s) as necessary.”&nbsp;



A second investigation starting in 2019 found that the crypto payments provider&#8217;s cybersecurity and AML programs needed “additional improvement.”&nbsp;



“Throughout the exam period and since, BitPay has steadily enhanced its already rigorous compliance and cybersecurity programs to both fulfill its regulatory obligations and continue to be an example of doing business the right way in the evolving blockchain payments space,” Pair said.



BitPay agreed to a penalty of $1 million.



As part of the settlement, BitPay is required to submit an action plan to the NYSDFS before Sept. 16 this year.



“BitPay has demonstrated its commitment to remediation by devoting significant financial and other resources to enhance its cybersecurity and AML programs,” the NYSDFS said.



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Anti-money laundering

BitPay To Pay $1M to New York’s Financial Services Department

Jack Kubinec

<div id="highlights-block_62acd57cc3cf4" class="highlights">
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 <li>Executives remain mostly shielded from crypto&#8217;s job squeeze</li>
 <li>Deep-pocketed traditional and decentralized finance firms announce job openings as struggling crypto firms make cuts</li>
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Decentralized trading platform Uniswap Labs brought on Stacy Cunningham, former president of the New York Stock Exchange, as an adviser this week. The company hopes Cunningham’s experience in the top echelons of traditional finance will bring insight to the protocol.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Excited to bring my years (decades?!) of exchange experience to <a href="https://twitter.com/haydenzadams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@haydenzadams</a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/Uniswap?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Uniswap</a> team to advance their mission of democratizing new markets. <a href="https://t.co/eS4X10sH9E">https://t.co/eS4X10sH9E</a>&mdash; Stacey Cunningham (@stacey_cunning) <a href="https://twitter.com/stacey_cunning/status/1537129387585331200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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CoinFund appointed Margaret Gabriel as the firm’s head of talent. Gabriel will lead CoinFund’s talent acquisition program and will advise the firm’s portfolio companies on new hires. Gabriel previously worked in recruitment roles at Gemini and Google.&nbsp;



Crypto payment service BitPay made Allison Raley its chief compliance officer. The hire comes as Congress <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/congress-mulling-stablecoin-regulation-after-terra-crash/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weighs</a> crypto regulation amid widespread decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity issues. After receiving her law degree from Baylor University, Raley previously worked in digital asset compliance for an Arkansas law firm.



Kraken Product Manager Pierre Rochard has informed the company of his retirement. Rochard, who was with the exchange for almost three years, <a href="https://twitter.com/pierre_rochard/status/1537084282778357762?s=20&amp;t=-CMwToXnLDuP4dkmhV6fFQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">insisted</a> on Twitter that his departure will allow him “to spend more time with family” and is not related to dysfunctional company culture recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/technology/kraken-crypto-culture.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> by The New York Times.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">No 😂. Huge fan of Jesse, Kraken, and the culture there, an excellent team of builders I enjoyed working with. I’ll miss them a lot. I’m stepping aside to spend more time with family and enable a new product leader to take bitcoin and Lightning at Kraken to the next level.&mdash; Pierre Rochard (@pierre_rochard) <a href="https://twitter.com/pierre_rochard/status/1537084282778357762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/job-security-a-growing-concern-as-crypto-companies-continue-layoffs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Layoffs</a> abounded in the crypto industry last week — with <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-com-cutting-5-of-workforce-amid-digital-asset-downturn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto.com</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cryptocurrency-lender-blockfi-set-to-cut-staff-by-a-fifth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BlockFi</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-cut-workforce-ceo-wary-of-potential-recession/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gemini-joins-growing-list-of-crypto-exchanges-cutting-staff-amid-downturn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gemini</a>, among others, announcing staff cuts — but several of the space’s largest funds have so far avoided downsizing and are publicizing new job openings. 



Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that the trading platform is looking to hire 2,000 new employees, and Kraken <a href="https://blog.kraken.com/post/14372/kraken-announces-global-hiring-push-and-commitment-to-crypto-first-culture/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a> in a blog post that the company is hoping to fill 500 positions by the end of 2022. FTX, OpenSea, Everstake, Polygon and Ripple all also indicated they are looking to bring on new employees.



Traditional finance firms are opening their doors to some of crypto’s recently fired. Deloitte has listed 144 crypto-adjacent job openings, while CashApp and Jack Dorsey’s Block are also looking to fill dozens of crypto positions, according to research from CryptoJobsList.com.&nbsp;



Layoffs are expected to continue as the market slides, but firms with the resources to weather the crypto winter will benefit from an expanding pool of available labor.



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