Former SEC chairman: Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will definitely be more regulated in the future
During an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday, Jay Clayton, former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman suggested that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will definitely be more regulated in the future.
“Where digital assets land at the end of the day–will be driven in part by regulation both domestic and international, and I expect that regulation will come in this area both directly and indirectly,” says Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton on #bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/voWcgCFqOH
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) April 1, 2021
New Bitcoin regulations are coming, warns ex-SEC chairman
He stated:
“I expect that regulation will come in this area both directly and indirectly. While Bitcoin wasn’t considered security even before he joined the SEC, it does not mean that it should not be regulated. In fact, where digital assets land at the end of the day, which is very much a wide-ranging question, … will be driven in part by regulation—both domestic and international. And I expect, and I’m just speaking as a citizen now, I expect that regulation will come in this area both directly and indirectly. Whether it’s through how these are held at banks, or securities accounts, taxation, and the like.”
Notably, Clayton’s comments came amid the ongoing legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs, the company behind the XRP token. The regulator filed its $1.3 billion lawsuits last December, alleging that Ripple—as well as its executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen—have earned hundreds of millions of dollars by illegally selling XRP since 2013.
The SEC’s main complaint is that XRP tokens arguably have some characteristics of securities but weren’t registered as such. At the same time, during Clayton’s tenure, the SEC publicly clarified that neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum can be considered securities. This stance later became one of the main lines of defense for Ripple.
A Ripple spokesperson said at the time:
“The SEC has clearly picked two winners and ignored a growing and robust industry that is much larger than Bitcoin and Ether.”
No other country has classified XRP as a security. The SEC is at odds with its counterparts in the US & peers in other G20 markets. Ripple never held an ICO, nor did we ever sell or offer XRP as an investment. For 8 yrs, XRP has traded in an open market independent of Ripple. 2/5
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) January 29, 2021
Ripple is currently attempting to force the SEC to submit documents it holds on Bitcoin and Ethereum, demanding clarity on why BTC and ETH weren’t deemed securities and XRP is ostensibly being singled out.
Read more:
- Bitcoin Price Is Approaching $ 60,000 While ETH Is Setting New Peak At $ 2,146 Though The Price Rally Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down
- Bitcoin Miners Still Captured Record Revenues Last Month Raking In $1.5 Billion In BTC Rewards And Transaction Fees