US President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury Secretary is not a Bitcoin believer.
Biden is choosing former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as his Treasury Secretary. Yellen is a known Bitcoin skeptic who has described the leading cryptocurrency as a highly-speculative asset.
During the Montreal Fintech Forum in October 2018, she said many of BTC’s transactions are related to criminal activities such as terrorist financing and money laundering. Since that time, multiple research reports including one from defense and aerospace company BAE Systems have found the use of cryptocurrencies to launder money is minuscule compared to cash.
Yellen also said she doesn’t believe Bitcoin can store wealth or become a viable payments system.
“It’s not used for a lot of transactions. It’s not a stable source of value and it’s also not an efficient means for processing payments. It’s very slow in handling payments.”
Raz Suprovici, the founder of Bitcoin gifting platform Biterica, sent Yellen $20 worth of BTC in an attempt to change her perspective on the flagship cryptocurrency.
Yellen also became part of a legendary crypto meme in 2017 when an unidentified man held up a “Buy Bitcoin” sign during her testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.
The man, who became known as the “Bitcoin Sign Guy,” received 7 BTC worth $128,800 from the crypto community after his photobombing stint went viral.
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