Clayton's SEC Past Comes Back to Haunt Him as Crypto Market Sees Major Developments
The crypto market saw significant developments on October 4, 2026. One of the major announcements was the appointment of former SEC Chair Jay Clayton as the AI czar by Trump. Clayton will lead a 'Super Intelligence Force' with 120 days to report on AI risks and opportunities.
Clayton's past actions in the crypto space have raised eyebrows, particularly given his role in filing the Ripple lawsuit during his last full day at the SEC. This has sparked debate among crypto enthusiasts, who see this move as a potential attack on cryptocurrency adoption.
In other news, a Philippine court froze 25 crypto wallets and 86 bank accounts tied to an unnamed lawmaker as part of a flood-control plunder probe. The freeze covers 116 assets in total, but the lawmaker has not been named, and this is not a conviction.
The SEC approved the first 3x leveraged Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, with CryptosRus announcing that the funds target 3x the daily move using regulated futures. This development follows Eric Balchunas's note that the SEC cleared Volatility Shares' 3x Bitcoin, Ether, and commodity ETPs for listing on Cboe BZX.
El Salvador missed its IMF Bitcoin target but still received about $138, $139 million after the Fund signed off on a waiver. The country's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender continues to be a subject of interest in the crypto space.