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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday criticized Bitcoin, claiming it was inefficient and required a large amount of power, and expressed her fear that it would be used for ‘illicit’ reasons.
At around 1500 GMT, the digital currency slid 12.57% to $ 47,946, while rival Ethereum declined 15% to $ 1,539. Image: parilovv / 123rf.com
LONDON – Bitcoin fell from its record streak on Tuesday after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the “highly speculative” unit could be used for “illicit” purposes.
At around 1500 GMT, the digital currency slid 12.57% to $ 47,946, while rival Ethereum declined 15% to $ 1,539.
Tesla boss Elon Musk, whose company has invested heavily in bitcoin, tweeted on Saturday that the prices of both cryptocurrencies “appear high.”
Yellen attacked Bitcoin on Monday, claiming it was inefficient and required a large amount of power, and expressed fear that it would be used for “illicit” reasons.
“I don’t think bitcoin … is widely used as a transaction mechanism. To the extent that it is used, I am afraid it is often for illicit financing,” he said at an event organized by the New York Times.
“It is an extremely inefficient way to conduct transactions. And the amount of energy that goes into processing those transactions is staggering.
“But it is a highly speculative asset, and I think people should be careful. It can be extremely volatile, and I am concerned about the potential losses investors may suffer.”
Tuesday’s drop came after bitcoin broke a record path to hit a high of $ 58,350 on Sunday.
The total value of all bitcoins had surpassed $ 1.0 trillion on Friday.
A week ago, bitcoin surpassed $ 50,000 after Musk’s electric car maker Tesla revealed that it had invested $ 1.5 billion in the unit.
Bitcoin also jumped higher in recent weeks after corporate giants, including investment fund BlackRock, New York bank BNY Mellon and credit card titan MasterCard, adopted the digital unit.
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