Political and business giants speak out! US Treasury Secretary Yellen criticizes Bitcoin as inefficient; Bill Gates warns: "If you don't have Elon Musk's money, you should be careful."

In yesterday's crypto market plunge, criticism from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once again emerged. Both believe that Bitcoin is inefficient or too energy-consuming. Bill Gates even warned, "If you're not as rich as Musk, you better be careful."

Janet Yellen: Bitcoin Is Extremely Inefficient

In an interview with The New York Times, Yellen described Bitcoin as "extremely inefficient" and "highly speculative asset." She stated:

The public should be aware of the high volatility of Bitcoin. I am very concerned about the potential losses that investors could suffer. Its use in illicit financing is also one of my concerns. It is an extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions, and I do not believe that Bitcoin is widely used for transactions.

Regarding current monetary policy, she said:

Although the current level of U.S. debt is much higher than during the 2008 financial crisis, the percentage of interest payments in GDP is roughly the same due to the current low interest rate environment. I believe we have greater fiscal maneuvering room than before and should make good use of it.

Bill Gates: You're Not Musk, Be Careful

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates reiterated in an interview with Bloomberg that he is not a supporter of Bitcoin. He cited two reasons: first, the environmental impact of running Bitcoin, which requires a lot of energy to produce anonymous, tamper-proof transactions. Second, for retail investors who are not Elon Musk. Bill Gates stated: "Because Musk is very clever, I am not worried that his Bitcoin will randomly go up and down. But I really think that people who buy into the hype may not have so much money to waste, so I am not optimistic about Bitcoin."

Bill Gates concluded: "My view is, if you have less money than Musk, then you should be careful."