Former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, was appointed to office by ex-President Donald Trump in 2017.
During his tenure as head of the SEC, Clayton often defended Bitcoin (BTC) as a store of value. Last Wednesday, during an interview with CNBC’s Squawk boxing show, Jay shared his thoughts on cryptocurrency and how it should be regulated in the future.
The former SEC chairman said he was “a big believer in crypto technology” and that its efficiency advantages in the financial system and in tokenization are enormous.
“I’m a huge believer in this technology,” says Jay Clayton about #Crypto. “The efficiency advantages in the financial system and otherwise through tokenization are immense.” pic.twitter.com/WZqKE5cePN
– Squawk box (@SquawkCNBC) December 15, 2021
Clayton’s remarks come when current SEC chairman Gary Gensler recently confirmed that the watchdog has no plans to ban crypto, but this US Congress could. However, Gensler warned that crypto in its current form could be compared to the Wild West without proper regulation.
Related: SEC Chairmanship Doubles, Telling Crypto Firms, “Come In And Talk To Us”
When asked if the current chairman is imposing too many restrictions on the crypto industry, Jay said that cryptocurrencies have multiple purposes and are associated with a variety of industries, and the SEC should only be responsible for regulating the sectors associated with them.
“Crypto is a large variety of products with a wide variety of functions and the rules of our financial system are clear and long-term. If you are raising capital for a project, you must file your capital raising with the SEC. If you trade in securities, you must do so at a registered trading venue. But there are many crypto sectors like stablecoins that are not securities and do not fall under the purview of the SEC. “
Related: The SEC chairman wants a robust crypto regulatory regime for the US
According to Clayton, however, cryptocurrencies should be implemented with appropriate regulation. He said the government should “be reactive to people who violate our clearly defined laws, but proactively encourage the adoption of this technology throughout our financial system”.
Clayton didn’t let that happen Approval of a Bitcoin ETF during his tenure, which now took place in 2021 under Gary Gensler. The agency has since come under fire for denying spot ETF applications and approving Bitcoin futures ETFs. Grayscale sent the SEC secretary a letter, Vanessa Countryman, who states, “There is no rationale for the position that investing in derivatives for an asset is acceptable to investors, but not in the asset itself.” The SEC has been charged with suspecting the two Bitcoin ETFs Treating proposals unequally under the Administrative Protections Act (APA).
