Bitcoin increased by 3.64 percent in the last 24 hours to 33,477.35 dollars, while the weekly loss of the currency was calculated at 4.89 percent. Bitcoin's total market volume also increased to 621 billion dollars.
With increasing corporate purchases, the total market capitalisation, which exceeded the 1.0 trillion dollar limit for the first time in history on January 7, was at 989 billion dollars in the early hours of the new day.
While the value of 27 units decreased from the highest volume of 100 units in the last 24 hours in the crypto money markets, one of the top 10 units was among those that fell. Bitcoin accounted for 62.8 percent of the total market volume in 31,951 markets where 8,308 cryptocurrencies were traded.
Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee, seems to have balanced her statements about Bitcoin and crypto, after her previous negative rhetoric about the emerging technology.
In a written response to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Thursday (Jan. 21, 2021), Yellen stated that cryptocurrencies had benefits that needed to be explored. Yellen added that the emerging technology had the potential to “improve the efficiency of the financial system.”
While Yellen believed that Bitcoin and other crypto-assets had attributes that could benefit the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Nominee noted that they were also used for money laundering activities and terrorist financing.
An excerpt from Yellen’s statement reads:
“I think we need to look closely at how to encourage their use for legitimate activities while curtailing their use for malign and illegal activities. If confirmed, I intend to work closely with the Federal Reserve Board and the other federal banking and securities regulators on how to implement an effective regulatory framework for these and other fintech innovations.”
Yellen’s acknowledgment of crypto’s potentials and call for a robust regulatory framework for the industry indicates a balanced approach to crypto. Meanwhile, Yellen’s current statement is quite different from the response she gave in an earlier confirmation hearing.