Jay Clayton, former chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), believes it’s only a matter of time before a spot Bitcoin ETF is approved. “I think approval’s inevitable,” Clayton shared during an appearance on Squawk Box Monday. “I think there’s nothing left to decide.”
Clayton also recognized the Bitcoin market’s current robustness, noting that the token’s underlying trading market is “much better today than it was five years ago.”
The former chair’s statements follow a somewhat rocky week for the token’s trading value that reversed much of its recent rally. In part, a Matrixport report alleging the SEC would not, in fact, approve a spot Bitcoin ETF could have prompted the drop despite reports stating otherwise. “Obviously this is massively out of consensus,” said head of research for Matrixport, Max Thielson. “I do think the SEC will vote it down.”
“In my opinion, the approval of a Spot ETF by the SEC, which will attract fresh investment into Bitcoin, is inevitable,” the Matrixport co-founder assured.
Clayton’s comments come within 48 hours of the SEC’s January 10th deadline which could see the federal agency potentially approve all spot Bitcoin ETF applicants. So far, a number of companies have thrown their hat in the application ring, including Invesco, VanEck, WisdomTree, and more.
The Potential Impact of a Bitcoin ETF
If approved, a spot Bitcoin ETF could pave the way for greater mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency across the United States. “This is a big step not just for Bitcoin but for finance generally,” Clayton continued. “If you can digitize, tokenize underlying assets, and trade that way, that’s a potential significant change across finance – not just in the crypto space.”
Clayton’s words echo the sentiments of Coinbase founder and CEO, Brian Armstrong, who recently stated:
“Bitcoin may be the key to extending Western civilization. I think it will be a natural check and balance that will complement the dollar, and be the best defender of long-term American interests (and Western civilization more broadly),” Armstrong said.
Meanwhile, SEC chair Gary Gensler took to X Monday to warn potential investors of the dangers of investing in crypto, with many social media users taking it as a sign that at least one spot Bitcoin ETF will be approved in the coming days. “Tell me you’re about to approve the #bitcoin ETFs without telling me you’re about to approve Bitcoin ETFs,” wrote one user.
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