Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates were the latest to weigh into a debate over the digital coin. Gates cautioned about how investors can be swept up in manias, while Yellen said Bitcoin is an “extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions”.
Bitcoin slid Feb 23 after a bout of volatility highlighted lingering doubts about the durability of the token’s mesmerising rally.
The cryptocurrency fell as much as 9.7% to below US$50,000. At one point Monday the digital currency plunged 17% before paring the worst of the slide. It’s still up some 400% in the past year, a rise that dwarfs other assets.
