Today the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, began another sharp decline. Bitcoin’s trend over the past two years has been quite inconsistent. After climbing to nearly $20,000 at one point, Bitcoin slumped all the way to below $3,000 when the financial markets showed they are still distrustful of cryptocurrency. In general, central banks and other authorities see all decentralized, unregulated currencies as insecure and prone to manipulation, which is why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the rest haven’t received the recognition that traders initially hoped they would.
Nevertheless, tech giant Facebook recently announced they are launching their own cryptocurrency called Libra. Considering Facebook’s pervasiveness on the tech market and the company’s ability to survive and adapt, investors got optimistic that cryptocurrencies are finally being accepted. This inspired a rally across all of them, and Bitcoin climbed close to $12,000.
Now the American government formally asked Facebook to stop working on Libra. They are citing monetary, safety, and privacy concerns. Other authorities have also petitioned against Libra’s launch, as it could create a very complicated market situation, especially if it is used as an alternative to the American dollar within Facebook’s vast amount of services.
Facebook hasn’t responded yet, but all other cryptocurrencies slumped today due to this news.
