âTo the extent it is used I fear itâs often for illicit finance. Itâs an extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions, and the amount of energy thatâs consumed in processing those transactions is staggering,â the former Fed chairwoman said. Yellenâs comments have been cited as a reason for bitcoinâs recent losses. However, Yellenâs assessment of bitcoin as a inefficient medium of exchange is an important point and one that has already been raised in the past by bitcoin bulls. Using a volatile asset in exchange for goods and services makes little sense if the asset can tumble 10% in a day, or surge 80% over the course of a two months as bitcoin has done in 2021, critics argue. To put a finer point on it, over the past 12 months bitcoin has registered 8 corrections, defined as a decline from a recent peak of at least 10% but not more than 20%, and two bear markets, which are defined as falls of 20% or more, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened lower on Friday and then bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing mixed and little changed.The Dow added 33.18 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 34,798.00, while the NASDAQ eased 4.54 points or 0.03 percent to close at 15,047.70 and the S&P 500 rose 6.50 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,455.48. For the week, the Dow rose 0.6 percent, the NASDAQ added 0.1 percent and the S&P gained 0.5 percent.The lackluster performance on Wall Street came on uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following recent volatility.
