By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 20th, 2024
Jay Clayton has a very positive disposition to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), both of which were classified as commodities by the SEC and the status was never challenged under his tenure.
Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Jay Clayton has shocked the digital currency world with his declaration of trust in blockchain technology. Speaking in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Clayton shared his thoughts on the regulatory standpoint of the nascent cryptocurrency industry saying that he has “long believed that the rules in that area are fairly clear and longstanding.”
“If you are raising capital publicly for a project, you generally have to register those sales, that capital raising, with the SEC. If you are trading securities, it needs to be done at a regulated venue. There are many other aspects of crypto, stablecoins that are not securities, or other tokenized elements of our society that are outside the SECs purview,” said he.
"I am a huge believer in this technology," says Jay Clayton on #crypto. "The efficiency benefits in the financial system and otherwise from tokenization are immense." pic.twitter.com/WZqKE5cePN
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) December 15, 2021
Despite the controversies that were recorded during Clayton’s tenure, he affirmed that he is “a huge believer” in the technology underpinning the industry. Clayton said, “The efficiency benefits in the financial system and otherwise from tokenization are immense.”
Clayton served as the SEC Chairman and took the reins of affairs in 2017 when he was nominated by former President Donald Trump and he resigned back in December 2020 months before his tenure expired. Clayton’s approach was very stern, and while the digital currency ecosystem saw landmark growth during his time, he notably suppressed key innovations such as delaying the approval of a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) product.
With the new Chairman, Gary Gensler finally permitting a futures-based ETF product, the broader crypto industry now has a more specific basis to profile the acceptance of both regulators to the blockchain industry. There are still loopholes in the regulatory standings of the crypto industry but had the statement from Clayton come from Gensler, stakeholders in the industry would have believed it quite more.
Jay Clayton Blockchain Stance: The Ripple Lawsuit Difference
Jay Clayton has a very positive disposition to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), both of which were classified as commodities by the SEC and the status was never challenged under his tenure. However, Ripple Labs Inc and its associated digital currency, XRP was never favored by Clayton who instituted a $1.3 billion lawsuit against the blockchain payments firm just before his resignation.
Many XRP investors have called for an investigation into Clayton for this lawsuit which has cost both the company and investors who hold the digital currency. As reported by Coinspeaker, Ripple lost its long-term business partner, Moneygram International Inc (NASDAQ: MGI) in the wake of the lawsuit, and further adds to the perception and grievance the industry has against Clayton whom many see to have orchestrated the whole ordeal.
Gary Gensler inherited the lawsuit but the aftermath and blame still lie with Clayton. The former regulator now serves as an advisor to One River Digital Asset Management firm, and this might have influenced his new stance on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. How this will serve the broader community is what is not clear to many yet.