Warren calls out former Rep. Maloney's renewed ties to crypto

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is reviving her campaign against former Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney's ties to the cryptocurrency industry.

The Massachusetts Democrat told POLITICO that Maloney’s hiring this week as CEO of a newly formed prediction market industry group violates his 2024 pledge to not work for crypto companies following his time serving in former President Joe Biden’s administration. His hiring, she said, "stinks like the swamp."

"Maloney has an alarming track record of spinning between government and the crypto industry — going from chairing a subcommittee overseeing digital assets while in Congress to advising a crypto company, then a diplomatic post that dealt with financial regulation and now teaming up once again with his former crypto employer," Warren said, referring to Coinbase, which previously counted Maloney as an adviser and is one of the coalition’s members.

"If Democrats want to earn back the trust of working people, we must insist that public service is about advancing Americans' economic interests — not lining up your next job," she added.

The Coalition for Prediction Markets, which announced Maloney’s hiring Tuesday, counts Kalshi, Crypto.com and Robinhood as members, along with Coinbase. It launched last month with the goal of advocating for the federal regulation of prediction markets, or financial exchanges that allow users to wager on events like elections, sports and awards ceremonies.

A spokesperson for the coalition, when asked for comment, said the group "is for prediction markets — not crypto."

Warren's comments underscore a long-simmering tension in the Democratic Party over the revolving door between Washington and the business world.

In 2024, as lawmakers weighed Maloney's nomination to be Biden's ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the former New York congressman vowed in a letter to Warren that, if confirmed, he would "not accept employment, board service, or compensation from any company or organization primarily engaged within the cryptocurrency or digital assets industry" for four years after his tenure.

She previously pressed Coinbase over the company's employment of Maloney as well as several other government officials, including former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Sen. Pat Toomey, who all sat on its Global Advisory Council.