SEC chairman suggests cryptocurrency markets are easily manipulated, unlike the stock market

Jay Clayton, chairman of the SEC, spoke about the Commission's take on the cryptocurrency industry.

In an interview with CNBC, Clayton said that unlike the crypto market there are "Sophisticated" rules in place to prevent the stock market from being manipulated.

"We have sophisticated rules and surveillance to make sure that people are not manipulating the stock market. Those cryptocurrency markets by-and-large do not have that. And we're working hard on that," Clayton said.

"We have sophisticated rules & surveillance to ensure that people are not manipulating the stock market. Those cryptocurrency markets by and large do not have that." pic.

Clayton's interview spread quickly on social media and caused quite a stir among the crypto community, with many doubting the fidelity of the stock market.

According to several commentators, the stock market is plagued with all kinds of manipulation despite the tight securities laws.

Just last year the CFTC fined major financial institutions, including UBS and Deutsche Bank, for manipulating the U.S. commodities market.

Gabor Gurbacs, the director of digital asset strategy at VanEck, responded to Clayton on Twitter saying that it was the regulator's job to review the appropriateness of disclosures while letting the free market decide the rest.

Gurbacs also pointed out that there are many custody options available in the market and that the overall Bitcoin ecosystem is improving rapidly.

There are decent custody & surveillance options in the market and the overall bitcoin & crypto ecosystem is getting better rapidly.