US SEC chief Jay Clayton to step down by year-end

The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, confirmed that he will leave the post at the end of 2020 after three and a half years in office, according to the agency.

Chairman Jay Clayton confirms he will conclude his tenure at the end of the year after redoubling the Commission’s focus on Main Street investors and completing a historically productive rulemaking agenda. More here: https://t.co/EpBfZvAQML

— SEC_News (@SEC_News) November 16, 2020

Clayton was sworn in on May 4, 2017 after the arrival of President Donald Trump took office at the White House and served as SEC chairman longer than any of his predecessors.

According to the agency, under Clayton’s leadership the Commission broadened opportunities for businesses of all sizes to raise capital on public and private markets, subject to robust and effective investor protection.

The regulator also strengthened its investigations and enforcement programs by establishing various annual reports.

During Clayton’s tenure, the SEC earned penalties and restitution totaling more than $14 billion and returned $3.5 billion to investors. The record year was 2020, in which the regulator collected $4.68 billion, of which $1.26 billion came from the Telegram ICO and token sales of cryptocurrency companies. Telegram returned $1.2 billion to investors and paid the SEC $18.5 million in penalties.

During Clayton’s time in office, the regulator paid informants $565 million, including a record bounty in the program’s history — $114 million.

Under Clayton’s chairmanship, the regulator acknowledged that Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities, which enabled the launch of regulated futures based on these assets.

However, the Commission never approved applications to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on Bitcoin. The latest, filed by Wilshire Phoenix, was rejected by the SEC in February this year. Recently Clayton said that the regulator is prepared to consider the possibility of creating tokenised ETFs.

Earlier this year, the SEC announced plans to expand monitoring of smart contracts underpinning the DeFi space. The regulator’s special envoy, Hester Peirce believes that the Commission will have many tough questions for the sector.

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