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he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised some eyebrows as records emerge that the chairman Jay Clayton had an argument with an unknown lawyer over cryptocurrencies.
The argument was recorded in the transcripts of a roundtable held in June and indicated that it had to do something with a discussion centering on cryptocurrencies, within the body, as reported by Hacked.com.
The argument was revealed by SEC official Eric Werner, who had introduced Clayton at the discussion, by talking about the latter’s work.
Werner was quoted as saying, “In fact, the first time that I met the Chairman, I walked into a heated discussion he was having with an attorney in my office about the legitimacy and viability of cryptocurrencies. I was taken aback, honestly, about how much thought he had given to this space and the issues surrounding that. And what I have learned in the time working with him is that he has given every single issue that he has confronted that same dedication and thought process.”
Clayton has been instrumental in talking about the regulatory body’s gradual softening stance on cryptocurrencies. In the past he has said that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum are not securities, the same cannot be said of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO).
Talking about ICOs, Clayton had said in June, “Blockchain technology has incredible promise for securities and other industries. I think we all can agree on that… It greatly reduces transactions costs, including the costs of verification. It’s a powerful technology… That technology, people have used to apply to fundraising… we’ve had pretty clear…rules on how to conduct fundraising when you’re offering securities. Much of what I have seen in the ICO or token or ICO space, is a security offering… I don’t know how much more clear I can be about it.”
So far, the SEC has not clarified which ICO tokens come under securities and which do not.
Currently, the world is looking at the body for answers as it is set to review multiple Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). Although, it recently rejected the Winkelvoss twins’ ETF application, there are a few more pending for approval