Good day all. Bitcoin has been around for about since about 2008 and has exploded in value over the last few years. For those who may not know, bitcoin is a “Cryptocurrency” that is basically untraceable. This makes it a very popular means of making transactions that you don’t care to make known.
Currently, a bitcoin is worth something on the order of $53,000. Personally, I don’t use bitcoin, although I did play with it back when it first came out. Sadly, I lost the bitcoins I generated, or I would probably have a few million dollars in the bank. Oh well, them’s the breaks.
Recently, the new Secretary of the treasury, Janet Yellen, commented that she didn’t like bitcoin, and considered it inefficient. Here are the details from CNBC:
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued a warning Monday about the dangers that bitcoin poses both to investors and the public.
Despite a sharp slide in price to start the week, the cryptocurrency continues to trade above $53,000 as it has received boosts from various sources. Elon Musk’s Tesla recently made a substantial purchase and has said it will accept bitcoin for transactions. However, Yellen said there remain important questions about legitimacy and stability.
“I don’t think that bitcoin … is widely used as a transaction mechanism,” she told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times’ “DealBook” conference. “To the extent it is used I fear it’s often for illicit finance. It’s an extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions, and the amount of energy that’s consumed in processing those transactions is staggering.”
First, I don’t think Yellen really “Gets” Bitcoin and why it’s used. Yes, it isn’t the most efficient way of doing transactions, but it does have the advantage of being pretty much untraceable. I know that the IRS has added an entry in the 1040 forms asking if you have any Bitcoins. (I think the answer most people will provide is “No,” and the IRS will have no way of proving you do, which is the whole purpose of Cryptocurrencies) The second part of the statement regarding the energy used to produce Bitcoins is quite accurate.
Mining bitcoin requires users to solve complex mathematical equations using high-powered computer setups. The electric consumption used in the process leaves an annual carbon footprint equal to the nation of New Zealand, according to Digiconomist.
In addition to consumption concerns, bitcoin also is considered to be a tool of those involved in a number of illegal activities because its use is difficult to trace.
Yup, there is that. I suspect this is the real reason that Yellen doesn’t like Bitcoin. Like all Progressives, she wants to control everything, and anything that she can’t control is bad and must be stopped. There is also another reason she hates it. Competition.
The Federal Reserve, where Yellen once served as chair, has studied the issue and discussed the possibility of a new digital currency along with a payments system it expects to roll out over the next several years.
“I think it could result in faster, safer and cheaper payments, which I think are important goals,” Yellen said.
And you will also make sure that any transactions can be easily tracked so you can tax whatever you don’t flat out confiscate. I suspect that most people won’t touch your version of a cryptocurrency with a 10 foot pole. It’s not that we don’t trust you….Oh Hell yes, it is the fact that we don’t trust you.
Now do I think Bitcoin is overvalued? Of course, which is one reason I don’t use it. I’m also old school and prefer something a bit more “hard” such as cash, gold, silver, etc. I fully expect someone to slip an Executive Order to the Fake President, Dementia Joe, which he will sign without reading because…senility, that will ban Americans from using or possessing Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency.
Thatisall
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