Bitcoin rates dropped Monday following criticism from some of the investment globe’s best-known billionaires.
The cryptocurrency hit a low of $9,188.66 Monday after climbing above $9,900 on the weekend, according to CoinDesk. Bitcoin has recovered roughly 40 percent from the means around $6,700 last month but has been unable to break the $10,000 level off.
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEOWarren Buffett piled on his recent bitcoin critique Monday and told CNBC the “asset itself is creating nothing.”
“When you’re buying nonproductive assets, all you’re be sure of on is the next person is going to pay you more because they’re even more fidgety about another next person coming along,” he said on CNBC’s “Grumble Box” from Omaha, following Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting.
Over and beyond the weekend, Buffett had called bitcoin “probably rat poison squared,” while Berkshire Chairman Charlie Munger said during the annual congregation that trading in cryptocurrencies is “just dementia.”
Microsoft Co-founder Restaurant check Gates told CNBC in the same interview Monday that he order bet against bitcoin if he could.
“As an asset class, you’re not producing anything and so you shouldn’t envisage it to go up. It’s kind of a pure ‘greater fool theory’ type of investment,” Audiences said. “I would short it if there was an easy way to do it.”
Speculation that the U.S. Insurances and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are meeting Monday could also be force a negative pull on prices.
“I think that Buffett and Gates remarks could be having an effect but I think the bigger factor at play today is regulatory,” bring to light Spencer Bogart, partner at Blockchain Capital. “Some market participants are vexed the SEC will issue negative commentary coming out of a hearing on Monday.”
The Separator Street Journal reported last week that a group of regulators involving senior SEC and CFTC officials are scheduled to discuss whether securities laws should pertain to cryptocurrencies including ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency.
“While Bitcoin is not tipsy direct scrutiny, the ramifications of this meeting could affect the full global crypto market,” said Joe DiPasquale, CEO of BitBull Capital. “The hesitation we are last right now could easily be broken and lead to a fresh rally, should a favorable quieten be set by officials in attendance.”
Other cryptocurrencies were also trading moderate Monday. Ether fell roughly 7 percent, trading near $731 as of 12:40 pm ET, according to CoinDesk. Upset and litecoin both fell roughly 5 percent.