Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. (Photo: Bloomberg)
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has many concerns about Bitcoin.
In an appearance at an online conference Monday morning, Yellen repeated her concerns about Bitcoin's "highly speculative" nature and use in "illicit" activities and added another: its inefficiency.
"Bitcoin is an extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions, and the amount of energy that's consumed in processing those transactions is staggering," Yellen told host Andrew Ross Sorkin, the founder and editor of DealBook at The New York Times, which sponsored the conference.
Asked about potential regulation of Bitcoin, Yellen said "it's important" to ensure that the cryptocurrency "is not used as a vehicle for illicit transactions" and that there's protection for investors. "Regulating institutions that deal in Bitcoin, making sure that they adhere to their regulatory responsibilities … is certainly important," Yellen said.
She noted her "worry about potential losses that investors can suffer" because of the volatility of Bitcoin.
Yellen's testimony added to the volatility in Bitcoin in morning trading. Bitcoin prices lost several thousand dollars, dipping below $50,000 before recovering to nearly $52,000 by early afternoon.
