SEC Head: We will not develop individual rules for cryptocurrencies

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, said that his agency would not make exceptions for cryptocurrencies, but would not intentionally impede their development.

In a conversation with Bloomberg, Clayton said he was unwilling to change securities laws and include or exclude digital assets.

"I think many people are excited about the possibility of any changes to the rules on our part to include technology. From the beginning, I made it clear that this would not happen," Clayton said.

At the same time, he called for it not to be an adversary of innovation or digital payments: "If there is a way to reduce the cost of payments at the international level, I'm in. But you can't sacrifice the basic principles of securities and other laws to let that happen.

Clayton explained that he sees the difference between digital currencies. Bitcoin, for example, is not considered a security. The SEC, however, admitted that many ICOs are subject to securities regulation, he added. In addition, he found that many white paper ICOs are problematic and contain many repetitive motives, such as "time is running out" or "get in early and get four times as much. Such statements are an alarming signal to the regulator, Clayton said.

Last week, the SEC fined Russia's ICO Rating portal $269,000 for evading disclosure regarding the payments it received from issuers when "covering digital securities offers.