Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, testifies before the House Financial services committee during a hearing on Regulatory Perspectives on the Obama Administration's Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals (Part I)" on C
Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, testifies before the House Financial services committee during a hearing on Regulatory Perspectives on the Obama Administration's Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals (Part I)" on Capitol Hill in Washington July 22, 2009.

While the Senate's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed this week with new tax provisions for cryptocurrencies, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., continue to press for more regulations of the crypto markets.

Warren has been active on social media, drawing comparisons between the crypto market and the "Wild West." As negotiations were ongoing for the infrastructure bill, she wrote a letter to Gensler on July 7 that outlined her concerns about unregulated cryptocurrencies.

"I write to request information regarding the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) authority to properly regulate cryptocurrency exchanges and to determine if Congress needs to act to ensure that the SEC has the proper authority to close existing gaps in regulation that leave investors and consumers vulnerable to dangers in this highly opaque and volatile market," Warren's letter began.

Weeks later, Gensler responded to Warren with similar concerns.

“I believe we need additional authorities to prevent transactions, products, and platforms, from falling between regulatory cracks. We also need more resources to protect investors in this growing and volatile sector,” Gensler on Thursday wrote in a letter to Warren.

“In my view, legislative priority should center on crypto trading, lending, and DeFi platforms. Regulators would benefit from additional plenary authority to write rules for and attach guardrails to crypto trading and investing."

Investing in cryptocurrency can be highly risky since they are not backed by a centralized bank. If an investor were to have their accounts hacked there are no ways to retrieve the stolen assets.

On Wednesday, hackers stole $600 million from Poly Networks DeFi platform. The Federal Trade Commission reported that consumers lost $80 million in crypto scams between October and March.

Warren also expressed her concerns about the crypto market in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on July 27 saying consumers, the environment, and the financial system will all be threatened as the crypto market continues to grow and becomes embedded into our financial system.

"The longer the United States waits to adopt the proper regulatory regime for these assets, the more likely they will become so intertwined in our financial system that there could potentially be serious consequences if this market comes under stress," Warren said.

“I’m glad SEC Chair agrees that he has directed the SEC to use its full authority to address these risks, and that he has also identified where additional regulatory authority may need to be granted by Congress,” Warren said.

A bipartisan amendment to the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill established a broader definition of a "broker," subjects crypto investors to higher taxes, and requires all transactions over $10,000 to be reported to the IRS with their name, address, and gross proceeds.

The amendment is set to raise $28 billion in revenue to improve the nation’s roads, bridges, broadband, waterways, public transportation, and more.