U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren called cryptocurrencies a ‘shoddy investment’ and said they facilitate illicit activity.
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On June 9, the Senate Banking Committee held hearings on the digital dollar. During the session Warren urged Congress and regulators to address the problem of the ‘unstandardized alternative to real money.’
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She described as schemes Pump & Dump, allegedly widespread in the digital-asset industry, which are market manipulations. She noted regulators protect investors in the stock market from such practices, but their powers do not extend to cryptocurrencies.
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Warren reiterated her view in an interview with Bloomberg. The senator called the digital-asset market the ‘Wild West’ and stressed that the United States needs to tighten regulation in this area.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren says cryptocurrencies need more regulation.
“What’s happening right now…it’s a Wild West out there,” she tells @TheStalwart https://t.co/hytD79iSTX pic.twitter.com/umEmcQ7la9
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) June 9, 2021
The senator noted that cryptocurrencies are often linked to illicit activity. In her view, digital assets make it easier to commit crimes.
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As examples she cited ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS. In both cases the attackers demanded payment in bitcoins.
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“Every hack that leads to a successful payout in cryptocurrency becomes advertising for new hackers attempting more cyberattacks,” the senator believes.
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Warren did not overlook the environmental impact of mining. She stressed that cryptocurrencies based on Proof-of-Work consume too much energy, much of it sourced from fossil fuels.
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Bitcoin requires so much computing activity that it eats up more energy than entire countries. One of the easiest and least disruptive things we can do to fight the #ClimateCrisis is to crack down on environmentally wasteful cryptocurrencies. pic.twitter.com/derGr1bjuq
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 9, 2021
The senator argues that central-bank digital currencies could displace ‘fake private digital money,’ as they would be ‘safe, stable and widely accepted.’
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Earlier, Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz warned that the US would be at a competitive disadvantage if a digital dollar is not created soon.
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