US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) criticized the SEC’s approval on multiple points. Bitcoin ETFs.
in Posted on TwitterWarren said the regulator was “wrong on the law and wrong on the policy” regarding the decision to approve spot bitcoin ETFs from asset managers including BlackRock, Grayscale and Ark Invest.
“If the SEC is going to allow cryptocurrencies deeper into our financial system, it is more urgent than ever that cryptocurrencies follow basic anti-money laundering rules,” she added.
In a statement following the approval of the ETFs, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said, “I have often said that the Commission acts within the law and how the courts interpret the law,” and that circumstances “changed” after the court order. Grayscale application review regulator.
At the time, the court found that the SEC lacked a coherent explanation for its denial of Grayscale’s request to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) product into a spot Bitcoin ETF, since it had already approved Bitcoin futures ETFs — which are called “on Reversing regulatory treatment for similar products is illegal.
Elizabeth Warren vs. Crypto
Warren has repeatedly criticized cryptocurrencies and the cryptocurrency industry, linking them to money laundering and terrorist financing, and claiming that groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad have raised “over $130 million in cryptocurrencies.” This number has been disputed by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, which claims Wall Street Journal The article cited by Warren “misinterpreted” the data provided by the company.
The senator has called for updating the Bank Secrecy Act to address the “threat” of cryptocurrencies, and is the sponsor of the Digital Assets Anti-Money Laundering Act, a bill aimed at expanding know-your-customer (KYC) requirements to a wide range of blockchain infrastructure providers and participants.
Among other provisions, the bill would require platforms and networks to identify owners of self-custodial cryptocurrency wallets and track their transactions.
The bill has been criticized by cryptocurrency advocacy groups such as Coin Center, which called it “an opportunistic and unconstitutional assault on the self-policing of cryptocurrencies, developers, and node operators.” In December 2023, Warren targeted lobbyists in the cryptocurrency industry itself, claiming they were “undermining” the Biden administration’s efforts to limit terrorist financing through cryptocurrencies.
Stay on top of cryptocurrency news and get daily updates in your inbox.
