2018-7-19 18:24 |
According to CNBC, US central bank’s chair Jerome Powell has asked investors to be cautious while investing in cryptocurrencies. Speaking to the members of the Congress on Wednesday, he warned people about serious risks they could get exposed to if they invest in digital currencies. He also highlighted that these digital currencies have no real underlying value.
Congress Hears the Fed’s Point of ViewPowell told the House Financial Services Committee that unsophisticated investors could be lured into the cryptocurrency market simply because of the rise in price. He said that investors think, “This is great; I’ll buy this,” but they are unaware that there is no promise of another price rise and gain in fortune.
He further suggested that investor and consumer protection issues in this sector exist as well. He also indicated that digital currencies are not real currencies (like fiat) and hence have no intrinsic value.
Feds Have Been Historically SkepticalBack in November 2017, when Powell was nominated as Chair of the Federal Reserve and the cryptocurrency spike was still taking hold, he noted that digital assets are not “big enough” to destabilize the economy. He said that blockchain would be important in building “significant applications in the wholesale payments part of the economy.” However, he said that things like cryptocurrencies could matter in the economy in the “long, long run.”
Note that at the time of his comments, Bitcoin’s market capitalization was $168 billion, while Ethereum totaled $45.3 billion. Even with such humongous market caps, both the currencies faded in comparison with the S&P 500, which is worth trillions of dollars.
Later, in December, then Fed Chair Janet Yellen called Bitcoin “a highly speculative asset.” She further suggested that Bitcoin is neither a legal tender nor a stable source of value. Yellen did not make any concrete comments on the rising prices of Bitcoin during the last quarter of her tenure, but she had steadily maintained that the Federal Reserve doesn’t have any role in regulating Bitcoin.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Warns Against Cryptocurrencies Yet Again was originally found on [blokt] - Blockchain, Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.
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