Senator and former United States presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren believes that the digital asset industry may be a tool to tackle some challenges in the traditional financial system.
A known skeptic of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Warren appeared to have softened her stance on the crypto industry in a CNBC Squawk Box interview on Wednesday, stating that digital currencies could be an instrument to bank the unbanked:
“There has been an enormous failure by the big banks to reach consumers all across the country. Digital currency and central bank digital currency may be an answer there.”
The senator emphasized that the existing financial system has a lot of problems, suggesting that some cryptocurrency-related solutions could be a potential solution to these issues. “The question we have to ask is to look at the design of crypto to see where it may be better but also to see where it may inject its own risks into the system,” Warren stated.
But despite seeing cryptocurrency’s potential to solve challenges of the established financial system, Warren still reiterated some of her concerns over cryptocurrency investment risks. “My concern is that a wholly unregulated market is one where ultimately the folks who pay the price are the small investors and the taxpayers,” the senator said.
Related: Sen. Warren urges Treasury Secretary Yellen to combat rising crypto threats
The Senator also compared the current cryptocurrency market to snake oil salesmen in the days before the government started regulating drugs, stating that a stronger regulatory framework would discourage fraud in the crypto industry and make it safer. “I don’t wanna wait until a whole lot of people, a whole lot of small traders, have been completely wiped out. I think the rules of the road that are there at the beginning that people say, ‘We’ve got a cop on the beat,’ give people a lot of confidence,” Warren noted.
Warren’s latest comments on crypto come shortly after the senator referred to crypto-related players and enthusiasts as “shadowy, faceless group of super coders and miners” in Tuesday a press panel devoted to crypto. The senator is also known for referring to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as “bogus” currency, while stating that central bank digital currencies have great promise.