NEW YORK  - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority plans to increase its resources to understand and monitor cryptocurrencies as more of the Wall Street watchdog's members trade digital assets, Chief Executive Officer Robert Cook said on Tuesday.

"We are already having to be engaged in the space and we think that as a result it's appropriate for us to bulk up our capabilities there," Cook said at an trading industry conference.

(Reporting by John McCrank Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)