(Bloomberg) -- The crypto ambitions of large technology companies are drawing concern from a key Washington financial watchdog focused on consumer protection.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking that companies share with the agency their plans for the growing asset class, Rohit Chopra, the agency’s director, said on Friday. The CFPB is also working other federal regulators to ensure consumers are getting protections as crypto gains more mainstream adoption.

“We think it’s probably going to happen -- if it happens -- by riding the rails of some of the big tech companies or some of the other big players,” Chopra said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power With David Westin.” 

Chopra’s comments come after the White House earlier this week directed agencies across the government, including the CFPB, to study issues related to cryptocurrency. 

“We’re going to be working with the other regulators to figure out how do we make sure that consumers are protected no matter if they’re using cash, credit cards, debit cards, or virtual currencies,” Chopra said in the interview. 

The highest-profile effort yet by a major technology firm to move into the crypto market unraveled earlier this year when an initiative backed by Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms Inc. moved to sell its assets. 

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