Investing.com – Cryptocurrencies’ prices gained on Monday. U.S. Federal Reserve official John Williams criticised Bitcoin, saying it can never be a proper currency. Meanwhile, Iran’s central bank took a stand against cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin was trading at $8,884.9 by 12:06AM ET (04:06GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange, up 0.64% over the previous 24 hours.
Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, gained 5.44% at $635.14 on the Bitfinex exchange.
Ripple’s XRP token traded 1.01% higher to $0.85843 on the Poloniex exchange.
Meanwhile, Litecoin added 1.31% to $147.88.
John Williams, who currently heads the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank and is expected to do so for the New York Fed, has reportedly has rejected the suggestion that cryptocurrencies comprise currency.
Williams stated that “Cryptocurrency doesn’t pass the basic test of what a currency should be.” His remark came after officials of various federal reserve banks in the U.S continued to make hostile rhetoric to the digital coins.
In early April, Federal Reserve Board of Governor member, Lael Brainard, said the institution is “monitoring is the extreme volatility evidenced by some cryptocurrencies.”
Reports that Iran's central bank has banned the country's banks from dealing in cryptocurrencies also gained attenton. The Middle Eastern country became hostile to cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin over money-laundering concerns amid efforts to halt a currency crisis.
"Banks and credit institutions and currency exchanges should avoid any sale or purchase of these currencies or taking any action to promote them," the state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.
Mohammad Beigi, the Director of the Payment System department of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), earlier said that trading the Bitcoin at the exchange bureaus of the country is against the law.