The first ETF in North America to appear successfully
Addition to the business of high-tech companies and financial institutions
Evaluation changes as a means of payment of funds
‘It’s just a tulip frenzy caused by excess fluidity’
Demand flocks to 21 million issuance limits
Prices skyrocket without real use value
Cadastral Map of FT’Investment Against Climate Change’
Bitcoin. Hankyoreh materials
As the market capitalization of Bitcoin exceeds $1 trillion, it is evaluated that it is becoming one of the investment assets. On the other hand, there are still voices warning that it is only a bubble caused by excess liquidity. According to data from CoinDesk, a US cryptocurrency information company, the price of bitcoin on the afternoon of the 20th (local time) is trading around $56,500 (62.5 million won) per coin. The issuance limit of Bitcoin is 21 million, and the market capitalization, taking into account the amount of mining, reaches $1.5 trillion (1160 trillion won). Bitcoin first exceeded the market cap of $1 trillion the previous day. It surpassed Tesla’s market cap ($749.9 billion), which said it had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. There are only four companies in the US New York Stock Market with market caps exceeding $1 trillion, including Apple ($2.18 trillion). At domestic trading company Upbit, Bitcoin is moving at 65 million won per piece as of 4 pm on the 21st.
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In particular, it is evaluated that the first Bitcoin Listed Index Fund (ETF) in North America was successfully launched in Toronto, Canada on the 18th, and was recognized as an investment asset in the mainstream system. As high-tech companies such as Tesla and financial institutions such as PayPal and New York Melon Bank are also joining the cryptocurrency business, Bitcoin’s status as a payment method is expected to increase. In order to overcome the Corona 19 crisis last year, the U.S. central bank and the like have greatly increased the issuance of currency, and liquidity has flowed into the cryptocurrency market. As additional fiscal expenditures for economic recovery are inevitable this year, analysts say that investors who are concerned about a fall in dollar value and inflation will buy bitcoin rather than gold as a risk defense tool. The actual bitcoin price rose to $10,000 in June from $4900 each in March last year when the Corona 19 pandemic began, and surpassed $40,000 in December. On the other hand, the international gold price reached a record high of $2050 per troy ounce in August last year, and then gradually lost its strength and pushed back to the current $1770 range. “Bitcoin can be a better bet than gold,” said Jeffrey Gundlock, CEO of Doubleline Capital, who has long advocated gold bullion. On the other hand, it is argued that the price of bitcoin has risen regardless of whether the dollar has weakened or not, so it is difficult to regard it as a safe asset such as gold, an alternative currency. They believe that prices are rising sharply due to supply and demand even though they have little practical value in use. Bitcoin is limited in supply and cannot be printed at will like the dollar, so when demand rushes, the price has to jump. Bitcoin’s weakness is that price volatility reaches 5-10 times that of its main assets. However, it is pointed out that these skeptics are less realistic in that they have always been bubbling up when bitcoin is $1 in 2011 or $200 in 2013 as compared to the ’17th-century Dutch tulip frenzy’. Pointed out that bitcoin investment is counteracting climate change. A lot of electricity is consumed in mining operations that make blocks for transaction details on the network and find the order. Organizations that take the environment, society, and governance (ESG) as their main investment criteria are critical of companies that buy bitcoin on a large scale like Tesla. The biggest risk factor for Bitcoin is government regulation. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview with the US Economic Broadcasting Corporation (CNBC) on the 18th, “It is important to regulate institutions that handle bitcoin, a speculative asset, and keep accountability.” Senior Reporter Han Kwang-deok [email protected]