In an interview on CNBC this morning, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton reiterated that he does not believe BitcoinBitcoin is a security, but suggested that more regulation could still be on the way from other federal agencies.
Clayton told CNBC that Bitcoin more resembles a store of value and a payment mechanism than it does a security, and that “inefficiencies” in current traditional payment mechanisms, both domestically and internationally, are boosting Bitcoin’s growth. But he also warned that as Bitcoin becomes more popular, it could become further regulated as a payment method.
“I think we’re going to see this mature, and I think we’re going to see more regulation around the payments space,” said Clayton.
"We determined that bitcoin was not a security, it was much more a payment mechanism and stored value," says SEC Chairman Jay Clayton on #btc. "Our current payment mechanisms--have inefficiencies those inefficiencies are the things that are driving the rise of bitcoin." pic.twitter.com/3r1mxzfgpi
The outgoing SEC Chairman was responding to a question from Squawk Box host Andrew Ross Sorkin, who also recently interviewed JPMorgan CEO Jaime Dimon. In that interview, Dimon said Bitcoin is “not [his] cup of tea,” and chalked his skepticism up to government regulation. “My experience with the government is they can regulate whatever they want whenever they feel like it,” he said. “And Bitcoin is worth $200 billion. If it gets bigger and bigger and bigger, it will be regulated.”
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon expressed his continued disinterest in Bitcoin at an event this morning, quipping that “it’s not my cup of tea.”
The event was the New York Times’ Dealbook summit, which is hosted by reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin; in addition to Dimon, today’s guests include Elizabeth Warren, Lebron James, and Ruth Porat, the CFO of Alphabet and Google.
He had more positive things to say about the blockchain itself, though, commenting that “the blockchain itself will be critical to...
Pressed by Sorkin as to why the SEC doesn’t currently regulate Bitcoin, Clayton said, “Well, let’s put it this way: We do not regulate Bitcoin as a security. When people use crypto assets as securities to raise capital for a venture, the SEC regulates that. And what was happening in the ICO craze was people were using ICOs and essentially making public offerings of securities without registering them with the SEC.”
Clayton clarified that the SEC “determined that Bitcoin was not a security, it was much more a payment mechanism and store of value,” before adding, “the government does regulate payments.”
Even if the SEC isn’t regulating Bitcoin, other government agencies, like the IRS and FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), could potentially expand the ways in which they already do.
Drew Hinkes, a lawyer with Carlton Fields and an adjunct at NYU Stern, told Decrypt that “FinCEN’s guidance treats Bitcoin like 'funds' or value that substitutes for currency,” and that early court cases treated Bitcoin like “money, funds, or funds equivalents.” Guidance from the IRS, he said, handles Bitcoin like property for federal income tax purposes, and the CTFC has said that Bitcoin is a commodity.
That the SEC doesn’t treat Bitcoin like a security, and so doesn’t regulate it, isn’t exactly new information—but Clayton has rarely been this explicit about what Bitcoin actually is.
Now if only the rest of the alphabet soup agencies would make up their minds.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
The Hyperliquid platform's native token, HYPE, is today the strongest performer among top 15 assets by market cap—excluding stablecoins. Its seven-day gains have outpaced major altcoins as Bitcoin volatility posts record lows for the year, pushing a relatively stable trading pattern.
HYPE traded at $41.31, down 0.3% on the day, yet maintaining strong momentum with 12.4% weekly gains and 67.2% monthly appreciation, according to data from CoinGecko. It has sustained this uptrend since mid-May, wit...
The investment firm of famed tech investor Cathie Wood remains bullish on Bitcoin as its price has climbed back near its recently established all-time high of $111,814.
Aggregate unrealized profit levels, Bitcoin ETF flows, and key support levels converging are among "bullish" indicators for the top crypto asset, according to ARK Invest’s monthly Bitcoin report for May.
“Bitcoin has not hit irrational exuberance,” reads one of the report’s key takeaways.
One notable sign that Bitcoin hype has...
Bitcoin Core developers have confirmed plans to remove long-standing data storage restrictions in the upcoming version 30 release, scheduled for October 30.
The change essentially eliminates Bitcoin's current 80-byte limit on OP_RETURN outputs, which are special transaction fields that allow users to embed arbitrary data on the blockchain. Under the new rule, transactions can include multiple OP_RETURN outputs, each potentially containing up to 4MB of data.
“Bitcoin Core is just one protocol imp...