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The domestic price of Bitcoin exceeded 40 million won for the first time in history on the 7th. According to the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, bitcoin surpassed 40 million won at 8:05 am on the day, and soared to 4236 million won (12:26) at one time in the daytime.
Bitcoin has been constantly changing the reported price since last month. It took 39 days from 20 million won (November 18 last year) to 30 million won (December 27), but it rose to 40 million won in just 11 days. Even people in the cryptocurrency industry are surprised, saying, “I thought it was a major bull market, but I didn’t know the speed would be so fast.” The highest price record (25 million won) three years ago, when the’coin craze’ reached its peak, has long been broken.
The bitcoin price jumped to 42 million won on the 7th, and Shingo wrote the record again. Pedestrians are watching the marketplace installed at Bithumb’s customer center, a virtual currency exchange in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul. Reporter Kim Beom-jun [email protected]
○ Unstoppable run of the’virtual currency leader’
Experts analyze that’excess liquidity’ and’entering big players’ have ignited the domestic and foreign bitcoin market again. Bitcoin has been attracting attention as a’digital safe asset’ that can protect against losses caused by inflation after the Corona 19 incident. It is said that Bitcoin’s presence increased as the currency value fell and the dollar weakened amid the indiscriminate solution of money in major developed countries including the United States. The fact that global companies such as PayPal and JP Morgan started their virtual currency business in earnest also had a positive effect. An industry insider predicted that “the demand for buying bitcoin from large institutions is increasing, but there is a limit to the amount of bitcoin that is newly mined and released into the market.”
Even in the new year,’good news’ is pouring out. On the 4th, the US Currency Supervisory Service (OCC) allowed banks to partially use stable coins (virtual currency linked to currency value) for payment. Bloomberg News said, “With the policy of the OCC, the cryptocurrency market can become closer to mainstream finance.” The favorable outlook for the financial sector was also continued, JP Morgan released a report that “if bitcoin is treated similarly to gold as an investment asset, the price can reach $146,000 in the long term.”
○ Virtual currency market cap exceeded 1 trillion dollars
Thanks to the rush of bitcoin, the total market capitalization of virtual currency surpassed $1 trillion (about 1087 trillion won) for the first time on this day. According to CoinMarketCap, the market cap of Bitcoin was 6946 billion dollars (about 755 trillion won), accounting for more than two-thirds of the total cryptocurrency market cap. An executive of a cryptocurrency exchange said, “Bitcoin itself is used as a means of storing value, and it is also used for purchasing other cryptocurrencies,” he said. “It acts as a key currency for virtual currency.”
However, the’bubble debate’ is also heating up as prices have skyrocketed more than five times in a year. At the beginning of last year, the price of bitcoin was around 8 million won. Above all, opinions are divided over whether Bitcoin can be recognized as’digital gold’, that is, as an investment asset. SK Securities researcher Han Dae-hoon explained, “Bitcoin is not a currency, it is close to an asset, and it is emerging as a means of storing value.” On the other hand, Park Sang-hyun, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, said, “Gold is an alternative asset, although it has stability and scarcity. Although bitcoin is scarce, it is highly volatile, so it is impossible to view it as a safe asset.” “Bitcoin price is entirely manipulated by a group of people,” argued Nouriel Rubini, a professor at New York University. It is reported that the influx of new members has recently increased to major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bithumb, Upbit, and Coinone.
Reporter Hyunwoo Lim/Jinwoo Park [email protected]
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