US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has long been a skeptic of bitcoin, has shared her view on the benefits of cryptocurrencies. Noting that “the biggest upside of cryptocurrency may be the expansion or democratization of access to the financial system,” she warned that if something goes wrong, the crypto industry could require a federal bailout, such as “on crypto One run.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren Discusses the Biggest Upsides and Downsides of Cryptocurrencies
In an interview with Bloomberg last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren was asked what she thought US cryptocurrency regulation should look like. “If people are going to do business there, they need a cop on the beat,” he began. “Because when there’s no cops in a market, it’s the petty traders who get duped, and that’s what always worries me.”
The Massachusetts senator continued: “It’s about enforcing some basic rules so that anyone can do business with some basic belief that the biggest types of scams will have a cop on the beat to stop the whistleblowing and stop it.” . “
In response to a question specifically about what he thought was the biggest upside and downside for the cryptocurrency, Warren replied:
THE BIGGEST UPSIDE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY MAY BE THE EXPANSION OR DEMOCRATIZATION OF ACCESS TO THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM.
“Right now, in the United States, we have millions of people who are either unbanked or underbanked, which means they only have to pay 3% of their paychecks to check cashers to get their cash. Gotta go,” she described. “They have to pay money to pay on their utilities or pay rent payments and it is costing those people very dearly.”
The senator elaborated: “It is possible that moving to a digital currency system, or should I expand to a digital currency system, could bring in more people and there are a lot of different ways that could be designed.”
As for the downside of cryptocurrencies, Senator Warren said:
OF COURSE, THE DOWNSIDE IS THAT AS LONG AS IT IS AN UNREGULATED SYSTEM, YOU WILL BE PULLING MORE PEOPLE TOWARDS YOU SO THAT THEY CAN BE DUPED AND THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WANT.
He warned that the bigger the cryptocurrency market gets, and the longer it stays out of the financial system, the more likely we are to face another financial crash similar to the one in 2008. He warned: “If something goes wrong, there is a run of crypto, there is a problem elsewhere in the economy, I do not want the American taxpayer to be the one who is asked to return it.”
Many took to Twitter to respond to Warren’s comment about a run on crypto. Some explained that she is still thinking like a banker and not like the crypto stock market where bankers go to the government for bailouts after the crash. Edge CEO Paul Puy said:
YOU CANNOT SCORE RUNS ON CRYPTO. YOU CANNOT BAIL OUT CRYPTO. YOU DON’T NEED THIS IS THE ‘WHY’ OF CRYPTO.
Senator Warren has long been a bitcoin skeptic. In May, he cursed cryptocurrencies, citing environmental impact and investor protection. She also agreed with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that cryptocurrencies are mostly used in illicit financing.
Lately, Senator Warren has been pushing for regulation of the crypto sector. He has urged Yellen to quickly adopt a policy to mitigate the risks of crypto. It asked US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler to come up with a policy on crypto and for the SEC to exercise its “absolute authority” to regulate cryptocurrency trading.
