Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton stated that sufficient surveillance sharing agreements could convince regulators to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, as reported by the former chairman.
On July 10th, in an interview with CNBC, Clayton suggested that regulators might soon be compelled to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Clayton revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had previously preferred to approve Bitcoin futures ETFs while rejecting spot Bitcoin ETFs. This preference was said to be based on the surveillance sharing agreements and safeguards of futures-based Bitcoin ETFs.
However, Clayton noted that this situation has changed and stated the following:
“I think what the institutions are arguing is that those distinctions have gone away, and now the spot product is actually less drag [and] more efficient for the investor … If they’re right … it would be hard to resist approving Bitcoin ETF.”
Clayton did not make any predictions about when the SEC might approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, but he noted that the regulatory process already takes some time.
Clayton’s comments hold critical importance with the resurgence of ETF applications in the near future. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, filed a proposal for a spot Bitcoin ETF on June 15th. Following their application, several asset management companies such as Bitwise, WisdomTree, Invesco, Valkyrie, VanEck, and Fidelity also submitted their applications.
The SEC has not yet approved any of these applications, and many of them were resubmitted with modifications towards the end of June, accompanied by potential rejection news.
Clayton Comments about Bitcoin
In his CNBC interview, Clayton expressed his astonishment at the growth of Bitcoin (BTC) in recent years.
He stated that while Bitcoin seemed to resemble the stock market in 2015, it actually “didn’t resemble it at all.” He emphasized that the situation changed when reputable companies determined that the markets, custody, and protections surrounding Bitcoin were adequate. He mentioned that these companies are now willing to be associated with digital assets.
Clayton referred to this transition as “quite remarkable” and an “incredible development.” He also mentioned that he did not anticipate this development during his tenure as SEC chairman. Regarding institutional Bitcoin investments, Clayton expressed skepticism based on studies indicating that 90% of trading volume involved manipulation and investor “dumping.”
Previously, on June 8th, Clayton made comments about other crypto developments at a Bloomberg event. He stated that crypto regulation requires nuances and praised fully asset-backed “true” stablecoins.
