Key Takeaways:
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Jay Clayton, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Legal experts consider the role to be one of the most powerful within the Department of Justice (DoJ).
Trump spoke very highly of Clayton in a November 14 announcement on his social media platform Truth Social, noting that the former SEC boss is a well-respected “business leader, counsel, and public servant”.
Trump Appoints Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton As The Attorney For Wall Street
Clayton served as the SEC Chairman between May 2017 and December 2020, a role he was appointed by Trump during his first stint as President. He is a partner at the New York-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, specializing in major corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Clayton returned to the firm in 2021 and was succeeded at the SEC by Biden-appointed chairman Gary Gensler, who is considered a public enemy by the crypto community. He also serves on the board of Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, and recently joined the advisory board of the digital asset platform Fireblocks.
His tenure as the SEC chairman focused on forging bipartisan compromises around the financial market structure updates, establishing the commission’s approach to cryptocurrency-related investment offerings, and cementing rules for investment advisers.
Clayton will be replacing current Manhattan Attorney Damian Williams, infamous for bringing crypto criminals to light for committing wire fraud and money laundering. Willaims is most notable for the conviction of disgraced billionaire and former CEO of the FTX crypto exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, who committed one of the largest frauds in US history after mismanaging over $8 billion in customer assets. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his crimes.
Clayton has had mixed views towards the crypto sector. In 2021, he claimed to be a “huge believer” in blockchain technology after stating that the efficiency benefits from the tokenization of the financial system are “immense”.
However, the former SEC chair is responsible for kickstarting the long-standing court battle between Ripple Labs and the financial regulator, which was filed on his final day in office before resigning in December 2020.
Ripple scored a partial victory in the case after Judge Analisa Torres ruled in favor of the crypto company in July 2023, citing that XRP is not a security token when sold through secondary markets. The lawsuit is still ongoing after the Gary Gensler-led SEC filed an appeal against the court ruling.
Gary Gensler Expected To Resign Before Trump Takes Office
Meanwhile, Ripple (XRP) experienced a double-digit rally amid rumors that Gensler might step down from his position before the Trump administration takes over the White House.
In his latest remarks, prepared for a legal conference, Gensler thanked his colleagues at the SEC. He also stressed the importance of providing the public with proper disclosure, stating that there had been “significant investor harm” in the cryptocurrency field. He also argued that a vast majority of crypto tokens offer no proper use cases. The SEC boss referred to cases such as the SEC v Binance, SEC v Coinbase, and SEC v Ripple Labs as ones where the courts agreed with the agency’s actions to “protect investors”.
Legal expert and crypto activist John E Deaton suggested that Gensler may call it quits as early as Friday. Even though his term officially ends in June 2025, he is expected to step down voluntarily so Donald Trump can appoint his preferred choice to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The 47th President of the United States has promised to support the crypto industry, promising to turn the country into the “crypto capital of the world” while ramping up Bitcoin mining operations. Trump also said he would replace Gensler with a pro-crypto appointee who will work on a friendlier regulatory framework for the industry.
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