Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Says Approval of Spot Bitcoin ETF 'Inevitable'
Date: 2023-09-03 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BLOCKCHAIN, BUSINESS
During an interview with CNBC on September 1, former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton suggested that U.S. securities regulators would likely approve a Bitcoin ETF.
Clayton, for his part, said he was not surprised by the fact that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed decisions regarding various bitcoin ETF probabilities.
He said that "the work of the SEC is very difficult." According to Clayton, when the cryptocurrency first appeared on the market, the securities regulator was required to process offers that clearly did not comply with securities laws. But for now, the SEC has to deal with more extensive cryptocurrency offerings, even those that have “clearly shown promise.”
Clayton did not respond to a question about whether he would approve a spot bitcoin ETF if he retained his position as head of the SEC. Thus, the opinion was expressed that this is a security.
Clayton expressed confidence in future ETF approvals, as it is already known that the SEC has previously approved bitcoin futures. He said:
"...Adoption is inevitable. The sequence between the futures product and securities (i.e. spot bitcoin ETF) also cannot continue indefinitely.. It seems to me that this is the way we are going.
He argued that for potential cell spot bitcoin ETFs, there is involvement of large organizations and collaborative oversight mechanisms. This has been the SEC's only objection to Bitcoin spot ETFs in the past, he said.
Clayton spoke about other events
After the SEC delayed a decision on several proposed Bitcoin ETFs, Clayton made his announcements just a day later. On various dates starting in mid-October, the regulator will decide on these ETFs and related rule change proposals. During this period of time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will either accept or reject offers.
Some of Clayton's remarks were also a reaction to Anthony Pompliano, who provided another CNBC interview today. As Pompliano stated, the spot Bitcoin ETF would “be approved” and lead to billions of dollars in gains.
