LOS ANGELES — Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa doesn't own any cryptocurrency — at least, not yet. But he's about to become a player in the industry's push for friendlier cryptocurrency rules.

The trading platform Coinbase announced Tuesday that Villaraigosa, a Democrat who was mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013, is taking a paid position with its global advisory council.

In an interview with The Times, Villaraigosa said that he won't be lobbying on behalf of Coinbase but that he is advising the company on securing a "robust, fair regulatory framework" for American customers.

Villaraigosa will focus on how to make financial systems more equitable for Black and Latino customers, Coinbase said. The company estimated that about 41% of American crypto investors are Black and Latino.

"Crypto users participate in our democracy like anyone else," Villaraigosa said. "They need regulatory protection."

Villaraigosa's hiring is part of a broader publicity and lobbying effort by Coinbase after years of conflict between the industry and federal regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Criminal investigations have recently taken down two of the best-known figures in the crypto industry: former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March, and former Binance Chief Executive Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to a money-laundering charge.

Coinbase and other firms have argued that the U.S. should be friendlier to the industry and that clearer rules are necessary to help American crypto companies compete with exchanges in countries with laxer regulations.

The industry has been spending heavily in the 2024 election cycle, signaling its willingness to boost candidates who support crypto priorities in Washington and oust those who don't.

The policy advisory council that Villaraigosa is joining includes former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, a Democrat, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, as well as political veterans such as John Anzalone, the pollster for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016 and President Biden's campaign in 2020.

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