Ex-SEC chief: "Bitcoin spot ETF should be approved".

After bitcoin ETF applications by BlackRock and Co, the crypto market awaits the SEC. The former chief explains how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission might proceed.

In an interview with CNBC, former SEC chief Jay Clayton shared his perspective on the evolving regulatory landscape for bitcoin ETFs. For example, he explained that he was initially skeptical of the Bitcoin market because of concerns about practices such as washtrading and market manipulation.

However, the former chief now makes the comment that "institutions that know the markets better than anyone else" now want to invest in the bitcoin market. Recently, BlackRock, Fidelity and numerous other asset managers filed a bitcoin spot ETF with the SEC. He followed the argument after the spot product was more efficient for investors and concluded from the asset managers' perspective that the "bitcoin spot ETF must be approved."

"If institutions can demonstrate that the spot market has comparable efficiency to the futures market, it will be difficult for the SEC to avoid approving a bitcoin ETF," he added. Clayton cautioned, however, that this could take time, citing the thoroughness required of the regulatory process.