Sen. Elizabeth Warren prevailed in her Senate race against Republican crypto-friendly candidate John Deaton.
Warren, who has notoriously been critical of crypto, won that race in Massachusetts on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press.
This would mark Warren's fourth term in the U.S. Senate. She is a member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. The latter has jurisdiction over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Warren has been critical of the crypto industry and has been behind an anti-money laundering bill that would extend Bank Secrecy Act requirements, including know-your-customer rules, to miners, validators and wallet providers.
Deaton gained support from some leaders in the crypto industry, including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Garlinghouse told a crowd at DC Fintech Week last month that he had donated to Deaton. Deaton has criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler and filed a petition in 2021 challenging the SEC's claim that it is a security in its case against Ripple.
Ripple has been embroiled in a legal fight with the SEC for years. In 2020, the SEC accused the firm of raising $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP, which the agency says is an unregistered security.
During a debate in October, Warren questioned Deaton's connections to the crypto industry.
“He's saying he has really made crypto folks mad, so mad that they came here to Massachusetts and are funding 90% of his campaign to try to take back this Senate seat to take it away from me," she said.
Deaton responded and questioned why Warren was so focused on crypto and said he wished she "would attack inflation the way she attacks crypto," adding "I wish she would attack securing the border the way she's focused on crypto."
Warren then reiterated her stance that crypto needs to follow the same rules as more traditional financial sectors.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
