Empower Oversight, Consensys, and Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton
Consensys is well-known within the XRP community. In March 2024, US government watchdog Empower Oversight sent a letter to FOIA requesting communication records from the SEC. Empower Oversight cited possible ethical violations within the SEC and highlighted concerns about former SEC Chair Jay Clayton.
Empower Oversight noted that Jay Clayton joined crypto hedge fund One River Asset Management after departing the SEC. One River Asset Management was a crypto hedge fund targeting BTC and ETH. More significantly, Clayton became an advisor to Electric Capital while acting as SEC Chair. Electric Capital was an investor in Consensys, tying SEC Chair Clayton to Ethereum.
The Consensys vs. SEC case could bring out the skeletons from the SEC closet, which could influence SEC plans vis-à-vis the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling.
In 2018, former SEC Director of the Division of Corporation Finance William Hinman said that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are not securities. The contentious issue with the Hinman speech was his connection with Simpson Thacher, part of a group that promotes Enterprise Ethereum.
After leaving the SEC, Hinman returned to Simpson Thacher. While at the SEC, Hinman continued meeting with Simpson Thacher despite warnings from the SEC ethics division.
Empower Oversight claims Jay Clayton publicly affirmed the Hinman statement that ETH is not a security.