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Most Influential 2021: Elizabeth Warren

The progressive Massachusetts senator has brought the fight against crypto to Washington.

(Adam B. Levine/Pixelmind.ai)
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) isn’t the only U.S. politician to look at the cryptocurrency industry with a critical eye, but she may be the most sharp tongued. “Instead of leaving our financial system at the whims of giant banks, crypto puts the system at the whims of some shadowy faceless group of super coders and miners, which doesn’t sound better to me,” she said at a U.S. Senate Banking Committee meeting in July.

The progressive lawmaker, founder of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has raised concerns about retail investors’ ability to access crypto trading platforms as well as the industry’s environmental footprint. Warren isn’t taken by the idea that bitcoin could be a powerful tool in making the U.S. banking system more transparent, resilient and fairer – one of her supposed policy goals. But her influence over the future of crypto, for better or worse, is clear.

The Complete List: CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2021

(Kevin Ross/CoinDesk)
(Kevin Ross/CoinDesk)

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Crypto Industry Asks President Trump to Stop JPMorgan’s 'Punitive Tax' on Data Access

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A coalition of fintech and crypto trade groups is urging the White House to defend open banking and stop JPMorgan from charging fees to access customer data.

What to know:

  • Ten major fintech and crypto trade associations have urged President Trump to stop big banks from imposing fees that could hinder innovation and competition.
  • JPMorgan's plan to charge for access to consumer banking data may debank millions and threaten the adoption of stablecoins and self-custody wallets.
  • The CFPB's open banking rule, which mandates free consumer access to bank data, is under threat as banks have sued to block it, and the CFPB has requested its vacatur.