Senator Elizabeth Warren claimed this January 11 that US securities regulators wrongly decided to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Warren wrote in a post on X:
“The [Securities and Exchange Commission] is wrong in law and policy regarding the Bitcoin ETF decision. If the SEC allows crypto to become even deeper into our financial system, then it is more urgent than ever that crypto follows the basic rules against money laundering.”
Warren’s precise complaints are unknown, and whether she will fully explain these issues in a future letter to the SEC is unclear.
However, the latter part of her statement appears to argue for anti-money laundering rules that extend beyond specific exchange-traded funds. Warren has promoted legislation called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act since its reintroduction in July 2023. The contents of that bill would apply to the cryptocurrency industry in general.
Some members of the SEC appear sympathetic to Warren’s war on crypto crime. Despite voting to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler noted crypto abuses including crime and terrorism in his endorsement statement and urged users to “be cautious about the myriad risks” surrounding Bitcoin .
Dissenting SEC Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw stated more harshly that the Bitcoin markets are “marred by fraud and manipulation” and a lack of oversight.
The law does not require the SEC to approve or reject ETFs
Warren’s criticism of ETFs received a huge backlash on social media. Many commentators suggested that a ruling on Grayscale’s ETF application ultimately led to the SEC approving several spot Bitcoin ETFs. That statement initially appears to refute Warren’s suggestion that the SEC was “wrong in a legal sense.”
However, the outcome of the Grayscale case did not require the SEC to approve a fund. Gensler acknowledged that the outcome of Grayscale’s lawsuit was a factor that made the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs the “most sustainable path forward,” but did not state that the SEC was obligated to grant approvals.
Grayscale’s ruling required the SEC to review its spot Bitcoin ETF filing. The court also found that the SEC had failed to explain the reason for rejecting the application in light of previous approvals of Bitcoin futures ETFs.
The post Senator Elizabeth Warren: SEC Got It Wrong in Bitcoin ETF Decision appeared first on CryptoSlate.
