Former SEC chair Jay Clayton suggested that U.S. securities regulators will likely approve a Bitcoin ETF during an interview with CNBC on Sept. 1, CryptoSlate reports. 

Clayton nevertheless said he was not surprised that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had postponed decisions on various pending Bitcoin ETFs.

He went on to explain that “the job for the SEC is a challenging one.” Clayton explained that when cryptocurrency first emerged, the securities regulator had to handle offerings that were clearly not compliant with securities laws. But now, the SEC has to deal with broader crypto offerings, including some that have “clearly shown promise.”

Clayton declined to say whether he would approve a spot Bitcoin ETF if he remained in charge of the SEC but stated that Bitcoin is not a security.

Clayton also expressed optimism about upcoming ETF approvals in light of the fact that the SEC has previously approved Bitcoin futures ETFs