Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency leader, has surpassed the record high of $33,000 each. Central photo.
Bitcoin, the leader of cryptocurrency, has splendidly opened the door to the new year. It exceeded the record high of $33,000 each. It was only a matter of time before the market cap was approaching $600 billion and exceeding the market cap of Tesla ($668.9 billion), an electric car maker.
According to CoinMarketCap, a global cryptocurrency information company, on the 2nd (local time) at 7:49 p.m., Bitcoin recorded 33155.12 dollars (about 360.70 thousand won). On the 16th of last month for the first time, after stepping on the $20,000 mark, it is breaking the $30,000 wall and is writing new records every day. The highest price in 2017 (the highest price of $19,497), when the bitcoin craze broke out, has already been replaced.
Bitcoin is also being traded at Bithumb, a Korean cryptocurrency exchange, for 37.8 million won, up 81% in one month on the 3rd (at 3pm). Along with the speed of Bitcoin, superior cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (88,7538 won) and Litecoin (15,5138 won) are also on the rise.
Bitcoin price exceeds $30,000. Graphic = Kim Eun-kyo [email protected]
Bitcoin’s strength is interpreted as a reflection of the’pandemic’ (a global pandemic) of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). As governments released money to prevent the economic slowdown caused by Corona 19, increased liquidity funds are flowing into various asset markets. The cryptocurrency market is no exception.
In addition, the weakness of the US dollar and the US real interest rate, which remains at a negative level, are also raising the appeal of cryptocurrency. The Federal Reserve System (Fed) is in a position to maintain zero interest rates until 2023.
In this atmosphere, it is the love calls for cryptocurrencies from global financial companies and institutional investors (big hands) that fueled the rise of bitcoin prices. PayPal, which has 350 million users around the world, has added bitcoin as a payment method from this year. Users can pay with Bitcoin at 26 million PayPal affiliates. It has shown that Bitcoin functions as a means of exchange like currency.
Big-handed bitcoin investments are also on the rise. According to SK Securities, the founder of hedge fund Tudor Investments, Paul Tudor Jones, invested 1-2% of his personal assets in Bitcoin. Stanley Druckenmiller, a hedge fund manager called “George Soros’ right arm,” also revealed that he had invested in Bitcoin.
SK Securities Research Fellow Han Dae-hoon said, “The recent rise in bitcoin is led by financial companies and institutional investors. It is a different point from the 2017 cryptocurrency frenzy, when individual investors flocked and bubble controversy occurred.”
A number of global financial companies expect Bitcoin prices to continue rising. The weight of this outlook lies in the argument that bitcoin can replace gold, a representative safe asset, to some extent. In an interview with CNBC in the US in November last year, Rick Leader of the world’s largest asset management company, Black Rock’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO), said, “Central banks in different countries are developing digital currency and bitcoin payments are being made in the digital market.” In the future, bitcoin, a digital currency, will be able to replace gold.”
Citibank’s forecast is more rosy. Bitcoin is expressed as ’21st century gold’, and it is expected to rise to 318,000 dollars (3,45,980,000 won) at the end of this year. It is a story that it will increase to 10 times the current one. According to a recent report, “21st Century Gold,” the Richard Nixon government stopped converting gold in the 1970s and predicted that gold prices rose from $20 to $35 per ounce for 50 years at once to $80. did.
However, there are also voices of concern over Bitcoin’s price volatility. New York University professor Nuriel Rubini, who predicted the global financial crisis in 2008, appeared on Yahoo Finance Live in December last year, saying, “Bitcoin is neither a currency nor a means of storing value.” It will be manipulated and the price bubble will shut off.”
He has also been to heaven and hell. Bitcoin rose close to $20,000 at the end of 2017 due to an explosive rise, then plummeted to $3200 at the end of 2018.
Reporter Yeom Ji-hyun [email protected]