Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Jay Clayton has warned that new regulations may well be on the way and says that Bitcoin isn’t a security and hasn’t been classified as such for a long time. But that alone necessarily does not indicate that the cryptocurrency won’t be regulated, he said. The regulation of the asset will still inevitably come, signals Clayton.

Jay Clayton Says New Bitcoin Regulations is Coming

Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on March 31, Clayton warned Bitcoin’s current status as a non-security still does not protect it from newer regulations which, he adds, could be coming soon.

Host Andrew Ross Sorkin questioned that under Clayton’s tenure the SEC did not look upon regulating Bitcoin. The ex-SEC chair responds to this by saying since Bitcoin wasn’t considered security, therefore the SEC’s jurisdiction over the asset was indirect.

Currently advising One River Asset Management on cryptocurrency, Clayton told CNBC that regulation of the asset is on the near end, adding:

“Where digital assets land at the end of the day, which is very much a wide-ranging question, will be driven in part by regulation both domestic and international and I expect, and I’m speaking as a citizen now, that regulation will come in this area both directly and indirectly whether it’s through how these Bitcoin are held with banks, security accounts, taxation and the like.” 

Ripple’s Urge to SEC on Examining Bitcoin’s Non-Security Status

Clayton’s remarks on Bitcoin being considered as a non-security comes at a crucial time in light of Ripple’s appeal to the SEC to re-examine Bitcoin and Ethereum as non-securities. The company behind the XRP token has repeatedly argued that XRP is not a security. However, the SEC sees the XRP token to be more of security being it’s more centralized.

Clayton’s comments come at a time just a week after billionaire investor and founder of the $150 billion hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio said that there is a good probability of Bitcoin getting outlawed, similar to how the U.S. government banned gold ownership in the 1930s.