In the wake of the recent banking collapse in the United States, Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts criticized the banks and called them out for such a poor mechanism. She also advocated for central bank digital currencies as they are backed by the government.
Speaking at the renowned “NBC Meet the Press” interview, the Democrat leader said that the banks “have done a real job” as she raised her voice in support of a CBDC. Meet the Press specializes in interviews with leaders in Washington, D.C., across the country, and around the world on issues of politics, economics, foreign policy, and other public affairs, along with panel discussions that provide opinions and analysis.
Additionally, Warren highlighted several issues that the banking industry currently seems to struggle with. She listed high transaction fees, lack of speed, and lack of transparency to be some of them. However, she believes the problems in the banking industry would be better solved with a CBDC and not Bitcoin.
Warren says that CBDCs are government-backed digital transfers that could be denominated in national fiat currencies whereas Bitcoin is an “ephemeral token” with no value. She also outlined the fact that Bitcoin is not backed by any asset or entity except the belief in it shown by its investors.
Further, Warren distinguished Bitcoin from other assets like platinum or silver and said that those assets enjoy some form of backing. She also disagreed about BTC’s comparison to artwork as she held artwork in higher regard. She said the artwork is physically on the wall, and “I can enjoy it, or I can throw darts at it.”
Talking about stablecoins, the senator noted that this asset class looks like CBDCs, but it is not the same because one can’t really ensure if they are backed by anything. She added:
The problem with those is are there any dollars to back it up, gold, or government promise.
Warren’s recent statements are reminiscent of her earlier views on crypto. She has criticized the crypto industry several times, highlighting the concerns around energy consumption from mining and the use by criminals.
In February, Senator Warren alongside other Democrat lawmakers wrote a letter addressed to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to accelerate their plans to require crypto-mining companies to report their energy consumption and emissions.
Her efforts culminated with the introduction of the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022. Following that, in February, Senator Warren and Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, announced plans to reintroduce legislation that would extend anti-money laundering laws to cryptocurrency ecosystems.
The senator’s anti-crypto approach has been to an extent that in her recent anti-re-election campaign, she made a promise of creating an “anti-crypto army.” To achieve this, she wants to recruit conservative republicans, bankers, regulators, and watchdog groups.
Warren has been a long-time critic of crypto as last year, in a media interaction, she referred to the Bitcoin industry as “a new shadow bank.” Her statement came at a time when the regulators reportedly were struggling with a financial market dominated by loans. However, Warren is not the only one who has advocated for a CBDC over cryptocurrencies.
Todayq News reported that Daleep Singh, a former economic advisor for President Joe Biden told senators that the administration was very willing for a digital Dollar as a means to crowd out private cryptocurrencies that facilitate ransomware and sanctions violations. Nonetheless, several dignitaries have stood in opposition to this view as CBDCs offer a more centralized method which is the biggest advantage of cryptocurrencies.