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US Senator Elizabeth Warren sees several issues with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. She said that âwe need a good strong regulatory agency that can continue to update,â claiming that cryptocurrencies invite âinvestors to come in without the ordinary protections of the transparency and disclosures and auditing.â
Elizabeth Warren Bashes Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
Elizabeth Warren, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts, was asked about cryptocurrency, bitcoin, and how they should be regulated in an interview with Influencersâ Andy Serwer on Yahoo Finance Thursday.
Recalling that Warren previously said that bitcoin was speculative and might end badly, Serwer asked how cryptocurrencies should be regulated and whether they should be regulated at all.
âItâs a good question,â Senator Warren replied. âI put this one again, with the SEC [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission], a reminder why we need a good strong regulatory agency that can continue to update. You know, the last time we wrote ⊠how money operates for sure was long before anything like cryptocurrency had come along.â
She elaborated:
Itâs not just bitcoin. Itâs one after another after another inviting investors to come in without the ordinary protections of the transparency and disclosures and auditing that you get when a regular company is out there offering its stock for trade in the market.
The senator then turned her attention to the environmental issues often associated with bitcoin. She opined:
I also think with bitcoin, and the other cryptocurrencies, I think thereâs a real issue about the environmental impact as well.
âThis whole notion of how much energy is consumed just to keep the currency tracking going, you know, you donât consume that kind of energy in order to have money on deposit at a bank or a mutual fund,â she added.
Warren concluded: âIn that sense, Bitcoin is very different. And in the 21st century, weâre becoming a lot more sensitive to the worldwide impacts of the choices we make.â
On bitcoin wasting so much energy, a number of people have come out with research debunking the claim. Ark Invest, for example, wrote in its report debunking several claims about bitcoin that âBitcoinâs energy consumption is more efficient than that of gold and traditional banks,â emphasizing, âContrary to consensus thinking, we believe the environmental impact of bitcoin mining is di minimis.â
The firm detailed: âTraditional banking consumes 2.34 billion gigajoules (GJ) per year and gold mining 500 million GJ, while Bitcoin consumes 184 million GJ, less than 10% and 40% of traditional banking and gold mining, respectively. Additionally, Bitcoin miningâs estimated dollar cost per GJ expended is 40 times more efficient than that of traditional banking and 10 times more efficient than that of gold mining.â
What do you think about Senator Elizabeth Warrenâs comments about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below.
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