Ex-SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Joins Crypto Advisory Board of One River Asset Management

Having resigned as the SEC chairman last December 2020, Jay Clayton is finally taking a new responsibility up his sleeves. Donning the crypto hat, Jay Clayton is now joining the crypto advisory board of One River Asset Management.

One River is one of the institutional players that joined the crypto market with investing around $600 million during the last quarter of 2020. The institution has already pledged $1 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) investments by early 2021. One River Asset Management takes crypto bets through its subsidiary One River Digital backed by hedge-fund titan Alan Howard.

Jay Clayton will now be one of the three advisors to One Rive founder and CEO Eric Peters. Having worked in the regulatory space for long and knowing cryptocurrencies from very close, Clayton has a solid grip on the understanding of navigating the regulatory waters. Surprisingly, Clayton who rejected multiple Bitcoin ETFs shall now be assisting One River on crypto investments.

However, under Clayton’s service as the SEC Chairman, the regulator came to the conclusion that Bitcoin and Ether weren’t securities. Now Clayton states that he is excited to discuss the evolving role of digital assets and their associated products, by being on the other side of the table.

While Clayton is joining as an advisor to One River, he confirms that he doesn’t own any digital assets as of now. Besides, his role at One River doesn’t even make it mandatory for him to hold digital assets.

Clayton’s Optimism for Crypto

As Bloomberg reports, some of the biggest financial institutions and corporates joining the crypto space have changed the narrative of the regulators. Speaking to Bloomberg, the ex-SEC chairman said:

“The digitization of our financial ecosystem isn’t just is coming, it’s already here. Three years ago, I didn’t believe we would be where we are today — the number of respected investors who have embraced digital assets. I would not have predicted this level of take-up.”

On the other hand, One River CEO Eric Peters wants to build a Bitcoin and Ether portfolio as a hedge against inflation at a time when central banking institutions have been printing massive money and pouring huge liquidity in the market. Peters believes we are still in the very early stage of institutional adoption for Bitcoin. He notes:

“It’s no longer possible to understand what’s happening in markets, let alone where we’re going, without a deep understanding of digital assets, blockchain, tokenization and virtualization. The real institutional flows haven’t even started yet.”

Clayton who has a tough image in the crypto space, noted that one must expect regulatory measures ahead in this industry. “I see a wide range of outcomes for digital assets that include strong government regulation, domestically and globally,” Clayton said. “The time frame is uncertain, but I expect there will be international coordination if not international consensus around digital assets.”