Hester Peirce, the SEC commissioner known for her pro-crypto stance, has again thrown her support behind the approval of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). While she supported this move, Peirce also warned that she couldn’t guarantee the SEC would greenlight a spot BTC fund shortly.
In response to Peirce’s remarks, XRP lawyer and attorney John Deaton weighed in, suggesting that some blame should be directed at the former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. Deaton said that Clayton had the support of commissioners like Hester Peirce and Elad Roisman during his tenure. However, Clayton’s actions, such as not enacting a Safe Harbor, permitting William Hinman to deliver speeches on Bitcoin and Ethereum, and initiating a lawsuit against Ripple, claiming XRP was a security, raised questions.
He wrote on X, “Immediately after leaving the SEC, Clayton took a paid advisor position with One River, who had made a $1B bet on #BTC & #ETH just two months before the Ripple XRP lawsuit. Keep it vague for the rest of us, but cash in as an advisor on the one thing you denied regular folks access. Clayton, Gensler & Hinman represent everything wrong with our regulatory markets today.”
Deaton highlighted that as SEC Chair, Clayton appeared to take a hands-off approach towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, aside from pursuing ICO-related cases unrelated to Ethereum. Following his departure from the SEC, Clayton took on a paid advisor role with One River, a firm that had placed a significant bet on Bitcoin and Ethereum two months before the Ripple XRP lawsuit.
The debate over approving a Bitcoin ETF continues to stir the cryptocurrency community, with Peirce’s endorsement representing one side of the ongoing discussion. However, the repeated rejections of such applications have left her puzzled. She strongly advocates for it, but the uncertainty surrounding its approval persists.
