Elizabeth Warren vows scrutiny of prediction markets, Trump family crypto ventures as Senate Banking chair

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is setting her sights on prediction market oversight and the Trump family's burgeoning crypto businesses when she becomes chair of the Senate Banking Committee in the new year.

Warren, who has been critical of crypto, will be focused on four main areas when she helms the committee in January, after Democrats took control of the Senate last week, including affordability, artificial intelligence, prediction markets, a looming potential financial crisis, and accountability, a Warren banking committee aide said.

"Warren is looking to focus on the issues that have been the focus of her career and drove the election outcomes across the country on Tuesday - making life more affordable for families across the country, reining in industries that are raising costs and undermining the financial security of Americans, and rooting out corruption," the aide said on Monday.

Warren's plans come after a Democratic blue wave swept the midterm elections last week, shifting leadership in the House and Senate. Congressional committee chairs drive the agenda, so Warren will lead efforts involving banks, deposit insurance, housing, the Federal Reserve – and crypto. The Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Financial Services Committee will both also be key panels for crypto, where newly elected former Sen. Sherrod Brown and longstanding Rep. Maxine Waters are poised to lead, respectively.

Warren has taken an aggressive stance against Trump and his family's crypto interests over the past year. In letters, she has asked for an investigation into Trump's memecoin as well as an ethics probe into alleged conflicts tied to Trump-family-backed crypto project World Liberty Financial, the United Arab Emirates, and Trump aides.

"Big Tech CEOs, Administration officials, Trump family crypto businesses, Wall Street executives, and giant corporations should preserve their documents and prepare to answer tough questions," the aide said.

Warren has also repeatedly criticized prediction market platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket and has asked for answers around election-related bets and how both companies plan to prevent insider trading. Lawmakers have repeatedly brought up concerns about insider trading over the past year that were then ignited after an active-duty U.S. Army soldier was charged for using confidential information to place bets on the prediction market Polymarket ahead of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture earlier this year.

In another, a former White House teleprompter agreed to pay more than $172,000 to settle charges that he used his advance access to President Trump's speeches to profit on Kalshi.

"She is looking to end the current Wild West-style lack of oversight in this area, with corrupt insiders profiting," the aide said.