Bitcoin Rises Above $10,000 Even After Mnuchin Voices new Pessimism

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Investing.com – Bitcoin rose above the key $10,000 level on Thursday in Asia even after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced new pessimism about Bitcoin’s futures.

Bitcoin rose 4.9% to $10,145.8 by 11:48 PM ET (03:48 GMT).

The gains came even after Mnuchin said he thinks the outlook for the crypto king is bleak.

“I won’t be talking about Bitcoin in 10 years, I can assure you that … I would bet even in 5 or 6 years I’m no longer talking about Bitcoin as Treasury Secretary. I’ll have other priorities … I can assure you I will personally not be loaded up on Bitcoin,” Mnuchin told CNBC in an interview.

“I think to a large extent, these cryptocurrencies have been dominated by illicit activities and speculation,” he added.

Regulators around the world have expressed concerns about Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project over privacy and security.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said at an academic conference last week that the possible illegal activities and instability brought by cryptocurrencies are changing the U.S. currency system, while Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said earlier this month that Facebook’s plans for its cryptocurrency Libra “cannot go forward” until serious concerns are addressed.

G-7 finance ministers and U.S. President Donald Trump also warned against Libra this month.

Prices of other major cryptocurrencies also gained today despite the negative sentiment surrounding Facebook’s proposed coin. Ethereum rose 7.3% to $220.20, XRP climbed 4.0% to 0.31899. Litecoin surged 7.1% to $95.284.