Share this article
Former SEC Chief Clayton to Chair Investment Giant Apollo
Clayton was named chair after longtime Apollo chief Leon Black unexpectedly called it quits Monday.
By Danny Nelson
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:30 p.m. Published Mar 22, 2021, 4:43 p.m.
Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton assumed the top boardroom seat at Apollo Global Management on Monday after founder Leon Black, the $455 billion management firm's longtime CEO and chair, unexpectedly announced his departure.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
- In a press release, Apollo named Clayton as the new "non-executive chair of board."
- Apollo co-founder Marc Rowan will replace Black as CEO.
- Clayton joined Apollo's board in February as its lead independent director, quickly moving into the private sector after a three-year stint helming the SEC, the top U.S. investments regulatory body.
- Clayton ran the SEC during its early blockade against a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the crackdown on unregistered and fraudulent initial coin offerings and, in his final weeks, the initiation of the lawsuit against Ripple Labs.
- Black had previously pledged to cede control of Apollo after fallout over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but he was expected to retain the chairmanship.
- Monday, he credited health issues in explaining the full severance.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Japan’s Higher Rates Puts Bitcoin in the Crosshairs of a Yen Carry Unwind
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten liquidity conditions that recently helped bitcoin rebound from November’s lows.
What to know:
- The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% at its December meeting, the highest since 1995, affecting global markets including cryptocurrencies.
- A stronger yen could lead to de-risking in macro portfolios, impacting liquidity conditions that have supported bitcoin's recent recovery.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a high probability of a rate hike, with officials prepared for further tightening if their economic outlook supports it.
Top Stories
