Sen. Warren queries SEC chair on lack of crypto investor protection

Senator and former United States presidential aspirant Elizabeth Warren has once again raised alarms about the current regulatory climate for crypto in the country.

According to Reuters, Warren has written to Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, demanding answers about the scope of the SEC’s crypto oversight in the area of consumer protection.

In a statement issued by Warren, the chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Policy bemoaned the lack of protection for crypto investors against the activities of rogue actors, adding:

“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.”

According to Reuters, Warren’s letter to Gensler asked the SEC chairman to determine whether crypto exchanges are undermining the commission’s goal of ensuring a fair investment market environment.

For Warren, the current lack of basic investor protection laws for the “highly opaque and volatile” crypto market is “unsustainable.” Gensler reportedly has until July 28 to respond to Warren’s query.

Related: Elizabeth Warren compares ‘bogus’ crypto to ‘legitimate’ CBDCs in senate hearing

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Warren is a noted crypto critic who described digital currencies as “bogus private money” during a Senate Banking Committee hearing back in June.

Indeed, the senator’s anti-crypto rebuke echoes sentiments shared during the hearing where she described cryptocurrency as a “lousy investment.”

Several administration officials, including Janet Yellen, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, are also outspoken critics of cryptocurrencies.