Clayton: “Eventually Will Be Accepted”

Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), expressed his belief that the regulator will eventually approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Clayton’s comments came after the SEC delayed decisions on several applications for such products.

Clayton, who served as the chair of the SEC from 2017 to 2020, told CNBC on September 1 that he still believes approval will happen at some point. He noted that the involvement of major financial institutions in the cryptocurrency space represents a shift in the way individual investors are exposed to Bitcoin. Clayton said about the Bitcoin Spot ETF approval:

“Confirmation is inevitable. The contradiction between the futures product and the cash product cannot continue indefinitely.”

Clayton cited that the SEC has already approved several Bitcoin futures ETFs that track Bitcoin price through contracts traded on regulated exchanges, but has not yet approved any spot Bitcoin ETFs that would directly hold the underlying asset. On August 31, the SEC announced that it has extended the review period for seven firms’ spot Bitcoin ETF applications: BlackRock, WisdomTree, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy, Bitwise, Valkyrie, and Fidelity. The next deadline for major spot BTC applications under review is October 19.