SEC chairman Jay Clayton publishes resignation letter and will step down after today

Today is Jay Clayton's last day as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a public statement. After announcing in November that he would depart at the end of the year, Clayton published his resignation letter to the president on the SEC's website today.

Clayton is vacating the position months ahead of the previously scheduled end to his tenure in June of next year. He took the office in May 2017 with an appointment from President Donald Trump. 

During his time as chairman, he led the SEC through the initial coin offering boom of 2017. "Under Chairman Clayton’s leadership the agency acted quickly and decisively to combat fraud and pave the way for innovation," the SEC said in a statement in November.

Clayton's SEC will also be remembered by the crypto industry for denying every application for crypto exchange-traded fund. His final outgoing action related to crypto was the recent suit against Ripple and two of its executives.