The former US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Jay Clayton has joined the crypto firm Fireblocks as the newest member of their advisory board. Fireblocks is an Israel-based Bitcoin and Ethereum Custodian and has a valuation that exceeds $2 Billion. Clayton has said he believes both in the promise of blockchain technology and the need for more regulation for the crypto sector. Several governments are moving towards regulating the crypto sector more swiftly.
Jay Clayton praises crypto and blockchain tech.
“There’s a US government interest in ensuring that, to the extent, the world starts to digitize, US regulation continues to be as robust, continues to be the gold standard, but also facilitates the adoption of the technology,” Jay Clayton said in a statement to the Financial Times. “I’ve always loved the potential efficiencies of this technology,” the former SEC chairman added. “But just because technology holds great promise doesn’t mean you can use it to evade the law.” Fireblocks acts as a one-stop platform for institutions to hold, transfer and issue digital assets across different jurisdictions. Its clients include the London challenger bank Revolut, retail trading platform eToro, and crypto bank Galaxy Digital.
Fireblocks raised a Series D funding at a $2bn valuation.
Earlier, Fireblocks raised a Series D funding at a $2bn valuation with Sequoia Capital, Stripes, and Spark Capital leading the round. The crypto firm’s investors include Bank of New York Mellon, the venture arm of Silicon Valley Bank, and the venture arm of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, SCB 10X. During his tenure as the chairman at the SEC, Jay Clayton had a reputation for cracking down against crypto companies, especially ICOs. He also never passed a bitcoin-ETF during his stay at the SEC.
