Anti-cryptocurrency Senator Elizabeth Warren: Approving Bitcoin ETF was a mistake by the SEC

The decision by the SEC to approve a Bitcoin spot ETF has brought cheers to the cryptocurrency community, but not everyone is pleased. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts tweeted on 1/12:

"The SEC's decision to approve a Bitcoin ETF is wrong on both legal and policy grounds. Allowing cryptocurrencies to infiltrate the financial system is more urgent than complying with anti-money laundering measures."

The @SECgov is wrong on the law and wrong on the policy with respect to the Bitcoin ETF decision.

If the SEC is going to let crypto burrow even deeper into our financial system, then it's more urgent than ever that crypto follow basic anti-money laundering rules.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 11, 2024

Twitter Community Notes on the SEC Decision

Of course, the Twitter community did not let Elizabeth Warren off the hook.

Several community notes expressing agreement and caution were shared with those who saw this criticism. The community notes indicated that the SEC's decision was based on the outcome of the SEC's lawsuit with Grayscale, recognizing the approval of the ETF due to Grayscale's lawsuit failure. Gary Gensler clarified that this was not an endorsement of Bitcoin. Additionally, it reminded people that various U.S. agencies have robust anti-money laundering regulations in place.

Elizabeth Warren's Strong Opposition

The U.S. exchange Coinbase has been very active in political lobbying and advocacy for cryptocurrency.

Coinbase's Stand With Crypto records the attitudes of all U.S. senators and representatives towards cryptocurrency and related policy disclosures. Elizabeth Warren is labeled as "strongly opposed." Therefore, it is not surprising to see her strong opposition to the SEC's decision.