Former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, has suggested that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will definitely be more regulated in the future.
“I expect regulation in this area will be both direct and indirect,” he said in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday.
“Where digital assets end up at the end of the day is determined in part by national and international regulation, and I expect regulation in this area will be both direct and indirect,” said Jay Clayton, former SEC chairman at #bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/voWcgCFqOH
– Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) April 1, 2021
Clayton, who recently became a cryptocurrency advisor at investment firm One River Asset Management, noted that while Bitcoin was not considered a security prior to joining the SEC, “it does not mean it should not be regulated.”
“Indeed, where do digital assets end up at the end of the day, which is a very broad question, […] is driven in part by regulation – both nationally and internationally, “said Clayton, adding,” And I expect, and I only speak now as a citizen, I expect that regulation in this area will be both direct and indirect . Whether it’s how these are held at banks, or securities accounts, taxes and the like. “
What is a security?
Clayton’s comments in particular came amid the ongoing legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs, the company behind the XRP token. The regulator filed a $ 1.3 billion lawsuit last December (shortly before Clayton stepped down). She claimed Ripple and its executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen have made hundreds of millions of dollars from illegally selling XRP since 2013.
The SEC’s main complaint is that XRP tokens may have some characteristics of securities but have not been registered as such. At the same time, during Clayton’s tenure, the SEC publicly made it clear that neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum can be considered securities. This stance later became one of Ripple’s main lines of defense.
A Ripple spokesman said at the time:
“The SEC clearly picked two winners, ignoring a growing and resilient industry that is much bigger than Bitcoin and Ether.”
We also filed a Freedom of Information Act motion asking how ETH evolved from a security to a security from the SEC. No explanation or guidance was given as to why. We only demand that the rules 1. be clearly stated and consistently applied. 3/5
– Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) January 29, 2021
As CryptoSlate reported, the company is currently trying to force the SEC to file documents on Bitcoin and Ethereum and is demanding clarification on why BTC and ETH were not classified as securities and XRP is allegedly being singled out.
Get one Edge on the cryptoasset market
Access more crypto insights and context in every article as a paid member of CryptoSlate Edge.
On-chain analysis
Price snapshots
More context
Sign up now for $ 19 / month. Discover all the advantages 
Do you like what you see? Subscribe to updates.
Comments are closed.