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Outgoing SEC President Jay Clayton, who oversaw the rejection of nine Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds during his tenure, told CNBC that “inefficiencies” in current payment systems continue to drive Bitcoin’s popularity. .
Appearing on CNBC Squawk Box yesterday, Clayton, who is expected to resign by the end of the year, confirmed his agency’s general assessment that Bitcoin was not a security but a payment mechanism and store of value.
“We determined that bitcoin was not a security, it was much more of a payment mechanism and a stored value,” SEC President Jay Clayton said on #btc. “Our current payment mechanisms – they have inefficiencies, those inefficiencies are the things that are driving the rise of bitcoin.” pic.twitter.com/3r1mxzfgpi
– Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) November 19, 2020
The president has been widely criticized by the Bitcoin community for holding back Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. However, during his years as president of the SEC, Clayton was never a staunch opponent of Bitcoin in principle, but he regularly voiced his fears that average investors could be subject to unnecessary risk when investing in a Bitcoin ETF.
This risk is due to the SEC’s perception that the largely unregulated nature of some Bitcoin exchanges makes BTC price manipulation too easy. With Clayton out as SEC chairman, some Bitcoin supporters to believe the chance of a Bitcoin ETF being approved is now greater than ever.
Right in: SEC President Jay Clayton will step down in December.
This is a big problem for cryptocurrency regulation.
Clayton’s successor will eventually approve or deny a Bitcoin ETF.
We hope the new chair understands the innovation
– Yano (@JasonYanowitz) November 16, 2020
Clayton believes Bitcoin will continue to grow as regulations evolve.
What we are seeing is that our current payment mechanisms, nationally and internationally, have inefficiencies. Those inefficiencies are the things that are driving the rise of Bitcoin … and we’ll see more of them. We will see it mature and we will see more regulation on the digital payments space.
Clayton was the first SEC member to issue a warning about the potential pitfalls of investing in initial coin offerings during the 2017 ICO craze, reminding the public that such products were usually considered stock offerings and subject to regulations. that accompany them.
“We didn’t regulate Bitcoin as a security,” Clayton said, explaining that BTC was “much more of a payment mechanism and a stored value” than a security.
When people use cryptocurrencies as securities to raise capital for a business, the SEC regulates it. And what was happening in the ICO craze was that people were using ICOs and essentially bidding on public securities without registering them with the SEC.
Clayton was appointed to the SEC presidency by President Donald Trump in January 2017 and is stepping down as the agency’s longest serving president. In June 2020, Clayton was appointed by Trump to replace the outgoing United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, a position he says he sought out of a strong desire to continue his career in public service.
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