Senator Elizabeth Warren asserted on Jan. 11 that U.S. securities regulators incorrectly determined to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Warren wrote in a submit on X:
“The [Securities and Exchange Commission] is improper on the regulation and improper on the coverage with respect to the Bitcoin ETF determination. If the SEC goes to let crypto burrow even deeper into our monetary system, then it’s extra pressing than ever that crypto observe primary anti-money laundering guidelines.”
Warren’s exact complaints are unknown, and whether or not she’s going to clarify these points in full in a future letter to the SEC is unclear.
Nonetheless, the ultimate a part of her assertion seems to advocate for anti-money laundering guidelines that will lengthen past exchange-traded funds particularly. Warren has been advancing laws referred to as the Digital Asset Anti-Cash Laundering Act since its reintroduction in July 2023. The contents of that invoice would apply to the cryptocurrency business basically.
Some members of the SEC seem like sympathetic to Warren’s battle on crypto crime. Regardless of voting to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs, SEC chair Gary Gensler famous crypto abuses, together with crime and terrorism in his approval assertion and urged customers to be “cautious concerning the myriad dangers” round Bitcoin.
Dissenting SEC commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw extra harshly acknowledged that Bitcoin markets are “marred by fraud and manipulation” and lack of oversight.
Regulation doesn’t require SEC to approve or reject ETFs
Warren’s criticism of ETFs obtained large backlash on social media. Many commenters instructed {that a} ruling regarding Grayscale‘s ETF software in the end led the SEC to approve numerous spot Bitcoin ETFs. That ruling initially appears to counter Warren’s suggestion that the SEC was “improper on the regulation.”
Nonetheless, the result of the Grayscale case didn’t require the SEC to approve any fund. Gensler acknowledged that the result of Grayscale’s authorized case was one issue that made approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs the “most sustainable path ahead” however didn’t state that the SEC was required to challenge approvals.
Grayscale’s ruling required the SEC to evaluate its spot Bitcoin ETF software. The courtroom additionally discovered that the SEC had failed to elucidate its reasoning for rejecting the applying in gentle of earlier Bitcoin futures ETF approvals.
The submit Senator Elizabeth Warren: SEC was improper in its spot Bitcoin ETF determination appeared first on CryptoSlate.