Sen. Elizabeth Warren has pressed the Justice and Treasury departments for answers about whether federal investigators are probing decentralized crypto exchanges — explicitly flagging PancakeSwap and Uniswap as potential national security risks.
In a Monday letter, the Massachusetts Democrat asked senior officials at the two agencies to disclose whether they are “investigating significant national security risks posed by decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges like PancakeSwap.” Warren said she was especially concerned about reports of money laundering tied to North Korea and possible “improper political influence” in how enforcement actions against crypto firms have been handled. She asked for a response by Jan. 12.
Warren framed the requests as part of Congress’s broader effort to shape crypto market rules. “As Congress considers crypto market structure legislation — including rules to prevent terrorists, criminals, and rogue states from exploiting decentralized finance (DeFi) — it is critical to understand whether you are seriously investigating these risks,” she wrote.
The letter arrives as a legislative push on market-structure rules has slowed. Senate Republicans had hoped to move the Responsible Financial Innovation Act before the year ended, but Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott confirmed on Monday that a markup has been postponed until 2026.
Warren also called attention to reports that PancakeSwap was promoting trader interest in tokens tied to World Liberty Financial, a company associated with the Trump family — part of broader Democratic concerns about potential conflicts of interest and political influence as lawmakers craft crypto policy.
Separately, the crypto community is keeping an eye on attorney John Deaton, a prominent XRP advocate who has announced a 2026 Senate run as a Republican. Deaton has become a well-known figure in crypto litigation and policy debates in recent years.
What to watch next: the agencies’ response to Warren’s letter, whether committee action on the Responsible Financial Innovation Act resumes sooner than planned, and any follow-up probes into DeFi platforms over illicit finance risks — all of which could shape the regulatory landscape for decentralized exchanges.
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