Former SEC Chairman Hints At Possible Bitcoin Regulation On The Horizon

Jay Clayton – a former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission – has given CNBC an intriguing soundbite regarding possible future regulation of Bitcoin, which he sees as a real possibility lurking just beyond the horizon.

Similar To Gold In The 30s

Just about a week ago, big-league investor Ray Dalio hinted that in the not-so-distant future, Bitcoin may actually be banned in the US for private purposes, similarly to the ban on private ownership of gold in the 1930s.

Now, the former chairman of the entity currently going toe to toe with Ripple in court has stated that he sees tighter regulations placed on Bitcoin – and maybe cryptocurrencies in general – as a thing that may be coming pretty soon. He also added that during his stint at the SEC, he did not seek to declare BTC a security – but also that it was already classed as a non-security before he took up the position.

Currently, Mr Clayton is a crypto advisor for investment firm One River Asset Management.

Although Clayton has reasserted that he is not privy to any insider information regarding future regulation, his career has certainly provided him with enough insight to make an educated guess – and probably more.

“Where digital assets land at the end of the day […] will be driven in part by regulation—both domestic and international—and I expect, and I’m speaking as a citizen now, that regulation will come in this area both directly and indirectly whether it’s through how these are held at banks, security accounts, taxation and the like. We will see this regulatory environment evolve.”

The debate surrounding the amount of regulation cryptocurrencies should be subjected to is generally between those who want crypto to become increasingly more mainstream and the ones who want their own private realm of finance. Provided the restrictions speculated about become a reality, it remains to see which of the camps will be proven right – if either of them.