US Senator Elizabeth Warren Says Cryptocurrencies Are a ‘Fourth-Rate Alternative to Real Currency’ – Here’s Why

US Senator Elizabeth Warren calls cryptocurrency “a lousy investment” and believes it does not offer the average American a safe alternative to Big Banks.

Speaking at a Senate Banking Committee video hearing to discuss a potential US government-backed central bank digital currency (CBDC), she states,

“Early advocates claimed that cryptocurrencies would open up the financial system and deliver fast, cheap, and secure payments to anyone with an internet connection. Others pointed out that crypto was a way to avoid the risks of dealing with the giant banks that squeezed customers dry.”

However, she believes this has not come to pass.

“Cryptocurrencies have turned out to be a fourth-rate alternative to real currency… First, cryptocurrencies are a lousy way to buy and sell things. Unlike the dollar, their value fluctuates wildly…

Second, crypto is a lousy investment. Unlike, say, the stock market, the crypto world currently has no consumer protection – none.

Third, crypto has become a haven for illegal activity. Online theft, drug trafficking, ransom attacks, and other illegal activity have all been made easier with crypto…

Finally, there are the environmental costs of crypto. If, for example, Bitcoin – just one of the cryptocurrencies – were a country, it would already be the 33rd largest energy user in the world – using more energy yearly than all of the Netherlands.”

Warren is open to the idea of a CBDC backed by the US government, but she says it needs to be regulated.

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Featured Image: Shutterstock/klyaksun