Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission to do more to fight crypto fraud. She believes industry players are scared of a strong regulator.
Warren told the American Economic Liberties Project that the SEC has brought enforcement actions against celebrity crypto promoters for failing to disclose their compensation to the public. She said the regulator has gone after the employees of Coinbase for insider trading and charged crypto crooks for defrauding ordinary investors out of millions of dollars.
The senator warned that this is just the beginning. Several US agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), are looking at the crypto industry. Warren applauded the SEC and its chair Gary Gensler for working hard. She lauded the regulator for blocking Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from hitting the market.
The SEC has been loud and clear that crypto doesn’t get a pass for long-standing security laws that protect investors. This is an effort to ensure the integrity of the financial markets. Warren believes this is the right approach and the right experience. She highlighted that Gary Gensler is the right leader to get the job done.
However, Warren’s colleagues don’t agree that Gensler is the right person. They have questioned his ability to do the job. Moreover, the SEC chair has been accused of going soft on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX. Gensler is criticized for his regulator by enforcement, arbitrarily picking and choosing who to go after, and driving some companies out of business. Warren said SEC needs to do more and use the full force of its regulatory powers across the entirety of the crypto market.
