Jay Clayton Nominated as U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York

After serving as the top financial cop under former President Donald Trump, Jay Clayton has been nominated to serve as Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Clayton, announced on Thursday, was the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2017 to 2020. The Southern District of New York has dealt with high-profile crypto cases, including actions against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. This news was first reported by Reuters.

> "I am pleased to announce that Jay Clayton, of New York, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during my first term, where he did an incredible job, is hereby nominated to be the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Jay is a highly respected business leader, counsel, and public servant."

Clayton led the SEC through the 2017-18 initial coin offering boom, filing high-profile lawsuits against notable crypto projects. Noteworthy actions included lawsuits against Kik and Telegram, which obstructed their crypto initiatives.

Before leaving his position, Clayton also denied every application for crypto exchange-traded funds and filed charges against Ripple, accusing the firm of raising $1.3 billion via the sale of XRP, which the SEC claims is an unregistered security. The case remains ongoing, following a partial victory for both parties and subsequent appeals.

Previously a Sullivan & Cromwell attorney and Federal Reserve advisor, Clayton was in charge when the DAO Report was released in July 2017, addressing the ramifications of the decentralized autonomous organization that caused Ethereum to rollback the chain due to theft concerns. This report set a precedent for classifying crypto assets from ICOs as securities.

On Wednesday, he shared with securities lawyers in New York that forthcoming crypto legislation was likely. He expressed support for reducing "regulatory burdens" to encourage companies to go public, as reported by Reuters.

During his remarks on Thursday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler noted similarities with Clayton, stating that both categorized Bitcoin as not a security and that Clayton initiated around 80 actions against crypto entities.

It remains uncertain about Gensler’s future at the SEC, with Trump indicating he would dismiss Gensler on "day one." Insiders suggest Gensler might step down, following the trend of previous chairpersons, although he could stay on as a commissioner.

> "His Commission and he spoke often about these markets, starting in his third month in office when the Commission put out the DAO Report," Gensler stated. "The SEC has continued that vigilance to ensure that those offering or selling securities comply with our time-tested securities laws."

Following his tenure at the SEC, Apollo Global Management appointed Clayton as lead independent director on its board. He also returned to Sullivan & Cromwell as a senior policy advisor while advising crypto firms Fireblocks and One River.