Bitcoin hit a record high of 70 million won for the first time in history. Some are forecasting that it will exceed 100 million won by the end of this year. In terms of dollars, it surpassed $60,000 for the first time in history.
According to the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, as of 8:33 pm on the 14th, 1 bitcoin recorded 69134,000 won. At Bithumb, bitcoin surpassed 70 million won at 5:13 am on the day, and as of 9:20 am, bitcoin was traded at about 71.2 million won each at Bithumb and Upbit.
At the same time, Bitcoin was traded at a price of over 70 million won on other exchanges, Coinone and Corbit. Unlike the stock market, cryptocurrencies are traded on an exchange basis, so even if they are of the same type, the transaction price varies slightly between exchanges.
This price increase can be seen as a result of growing expectations for an economic recovery. It is analyzed that the signing of US President Joe Biden’s $1.90 trillion additional stimulus package, made on the 11th (local time), triggered a surge in the price of Bitcoin in recent days.
Bitcoin’s market price has risen steadily since last March’s news that PayPal, an online payment giant, reorganized its system to allow Bitcoin payments. Bitcoin surpassed 30 million won on December 26 last year, 40 million won on January 6 this year, 50 million won on February 9, and 60 million won on February 19, especially after rising to 65.8 million won on the 21st of last month. It plunged below 50 million won, but recently rebounded successfully.
Meanwhile, concerns over inflation are cited as the reason for the growing demand for bitcoin. It is expected that more money will be released to the market due to the signing of an additional stimulus package by US President Joe Biden mentioned earlier. As the value of currencies such as the dollar declines as large-scale stimulus funds incite inflation, demand for assets rushes and the market price rises with it.
In the past, bitcoin had a strong speculative tendency among individual investors with much greater uncertainty, but recently, the demand for bitcoin is growing as institutional investors who have seen prospects jump into the cryptocurrency market. These institutions also appear to have determined that Bitcoin is an inflation-prepared asset.
Experts predict that Bitcoin’s rise will continue. It is predicted that the demand for cryptocurrency will continue amid concerns over inflation. On the other hand, pessimists are warning’bubble’, seeing bitcoin as an asset that still has no monetary value.