Elizabeth Warren, the US Democratic senator, and a known Bitcoin critic has written to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head Gary Gensler, raising concerns over the lack of regulations in the crypto market. Senator Warren warned about the growing risks associated with the “highly opaque and volatile” crypto market.
Senator Warren highlighted that despite growing crypto market participation from investors, it lacks similar basic protection for investors as traditional markets. She also pointed that nearly 7,000 people lost a combined total of $80 million to crypto scams between October 2020 and March 2021.
Call For Crypto Regulations Intensifies
The US Senator sought answers from the top regulatory watchdog regarding the measures it has undertaken to protect investors trading and investing in cryptocurrencies. She also asked the SEC chief to propose Congressional actions required for regulating the digital asset market.
Senator Warren acknowledged the growing demand for cryptocurrency exchanges in the market and said lack of regulations put investors at the mercy of “manipulators and fraudsters.” She called upon SEC to lay the groundwork for regulating the fastly growing market.
“These regulatory gaps endanger consumers and investors and undermine the safety of our financial markets. The SEC must use its full authority to address these risks, and Congress must also step up to close these regulatory gaps.” Warren said.
There has been a growing call for regulating the crypto market in the US amid its rising popularity among investors. Some of the top regulatory executives in the recent past have called for strict regulations including SEC chief Gensler himself.
Ever since taking office in April this year, Gensler has been calling for strict investor protection measures but hasn’t put forward any plans or rules to indicate urgency. SEC even left Bitcoin out of its 2021 regulatory agenda.
The most important topic of discussion from a regulations point of view is the approval of the first Bitcoin ETF. The SEC has postponed decisions on three Bitcoin ETFs over the past few months.
