Whenever U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman sneezes, expect Bitcoin to look for a hiding corner. The cryptocurrency lost double digit value after the U.S. central bank boss said he has “serious concerns” on Facebook Libra, a stablecoin cryptocurrency which Facebook plans to unveil in coming months. But it was not only Bitcoin:”the world’s second and third-largest cryptocurrencies — ether and XRP — also fell. Ether was down 13% at $270 a token, while XRP fell 15% to about 33 cents”.
Bitcoin is sliding after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell poured cold water on Facebook’s plans to launch a cryptocurrency.
The world’s best-known digital coin — which has experienced a meteoric rise in 2019 — fell 12% to about $11,450 on Thursday, according to CoinDesk data.
Bitcoin had hit a 17-month high above $13,000 just two weeks ago. It’s currently up about 200% since the start of the year, having gathered momentum as large companies like Facebook and Fidelity get involved in the space.
But it began sliding as Powell said that he held “serious concerns” about Facebook’s planned digital currency Libra. The social network is looking to launch the token alongside a consortium of companies including Uber and Visa.
“Libra raises serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection, financial stability,” Powell said at a congressional committee Wednesday. “These are concerns that should be thoroughly and publicly addressed.”
Yet, Bitcoin is still doing well, at least nearly doubling over the last few months.
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