The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Inspector General (IG) has said that the agency's prohibition on cryptocurrency ownership is hindering its ability to hire qualified employees. The IG's report found that the SEC is having difficulty recruiting experts in crypto assets, which it considers to be critical to its ability to investigate and enforce securities laws in the cryptocurrency market. The report also found that the SEC is losing employees to the private sector, which is able to offer higher salaries and more flexibility. The SEC's prohibition on cryptocurrency ownership was implemented in 2018 in an effort to prevent conflicts of interest. However, the IG's report found that the prohibition is having the unintended consequence of making it difficult for the SEC to hire and retain the talent it needs to effectively regulate the cryptocurrency market.