CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Former SEC chair Jay Clayton stated on Monday that he believes approval of a bitcoin spot ETF will be a foregone decision.
“I think approval’s inevitable…and I think there’s nothing left to decide,” Clayton said
Donald Trump nominated Clayton to be the SEC Chair in 2017. Clayton resigned his position at the conclusion of 2020.
Clayton’s SEC filed charges against Ripple near the end of Clayton’s term for an apparent unregistered security offering. Ripple has won partial victories since then when a judge ruled the programmatic sales of the XRP token were not investment contracts.
In October, the SEC dismissed charges against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse as well as former executive Christian Larsen.
Since then, Clayton has become more involved in the crypto-space. In 2021 he became a member of the advisory board for crypto custody platform Fireblocks. He has been an active voice in discussions about crypto regulation — and now, the several pending applications for bitcoin spot ETFs.
Grayscale’s bitcoin spot ETF was blocked during Clayton’s tenure. Clayton appears to be referring to his apparent about-face regarding the service in the segment.
“Five years ago there was wash sales, there was laddering, there was all sorts of things that you wouldn’t want to make available to the general public,” Clayton said
Clayton’s SEC refused bids for a bitcoin ETF to be launched during his tenure.
The SEC is expected to make a decision this week on potential spot bitcoin ETFs. The SEC must make a decision on Ark 21Shares’ bitcoin ETF proposal by Jan. 10. In anticipation of the SEC’s decision, potential issuers submitted updated registration filings that detailed fees and other important details.
Bitcoin’s value soared above $47,000 as investors await SEC approval on several spot bitcoin ETFs.
Gary Gensler, the current SEC chair, wrote an X-thread Monday morning that outlined some of the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrency. This added fuel to speculation about the imminent decision by the agency.
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