Jay Clayton, former SEC chairman has joined $2 billion Bitcoin custodian Fireblocks as an advisor. This would mark the second crypto endeavor for the former SEC chief as he has already joined One River Asset Management Firm back in March. The One River Asset Management firm had also filed for a carbon-neutral Bitcoin ETF with the SEC.
At Fireblocks Clayton would be tasked with mitigating legislative risks and help the firm in resolving regulative risks in the US and abroad. Fireblocks is a relatively new blockchain company founded in 2019. However, its experience in the crypto field is quite commendable given it has already acted as a custodian for over a trillion-dollar worth of assets since its inception.
Clayton joined the long list of former regulators who have joined the private sector especially the crypto companies to especially help them with the regulatory uncertainties. Binance is currently leading the chart in terms of the former regulators or government officials’ hirirngs. The crypto exchange has onboarded a number of former CFTC executives.
Clayton’s Crypto Involvement a Surprise For Many
Jay Clayton’s tenure as the chief of SEC was seen as regressive by the crypto community as under his tenure SEC rejected all of Bitcoin ETF proposals. Thus when he joined One River and the firm went onto the file for BTC ETF, it looked quite anti-climatic for many in the crypto universe.
Clayton has also supported recent comments made by the current SEC chief on the crypto market regarding the security status of several cryptocurrencies. He also clarified that he understands the company he is joining might have several crypto assets that might qualify as a security.
“I know that [Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov] and his colleagues are committed to regulatory compliance,” he says. “So to the extent that the SEC determines that certain digital assets that are trading on platforms are in fact securities and should be regulated accordingly, I certainly understand that.”
He lauded SEC for their work and explained that people working in the commission shouldn’t be held grudges against as they have to go by certain rules and regulations. He explained,
“What people have to understand is that the Commission’s authority is defined by statute and promulgated regulations,” Clayton adds. “The women and men of the Commission do an extremely good job in mapping those obligations to the advent of digital securities offerings and letting people know that digital securities offerings and trading has to comply with the same rules as traditional paper based securities trading, which by the way, has in many functions become largely digital in and of itself.”
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