SEC Chair Clayton Set Course for Democrats on Crypto, Covid-19

Democrats at the SEC soon will inherit Chairman Jay Clayton’s playbook for handling the coronavirus, cryptocurrency, and whistleblowers—containing strategies they largely supported.

Clayton, who plans to leave at year’s end, laid the groundwork for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s aggressive enforcement of securities laws to root out potential Covid-19 and cryptocurrency fraud. The Republican-leaning independent also ushered in new rules that clarify the commission’s discretion to set whistleblower awards, while seeing the bounties hit a record $175 million in fiscal 2020.

The SEC under President-elect Joe Biden will have the opportunity to change course, but Democrats generally have supported his ...