Bitcoin exceeded 50,000 dollars… “Bubble” vs. “It’s different this time”
[앵커]
This year, the price of cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been skyrocketing.
Last week, it surpassed 50,000 dollars for the first time in history due to the added investment of Tesla, an electric vehicle company.
This is the correspondent Lee Kyung-hee from Washington.
[기자]
The cryptocurrency bitcoin price has exceeded $50,000 for the first time ever, and KRW 55 million in our money.
On the morning of the 16th local time, it hit $5,191 in New York and over $50,000 in London.
Bitcoin price, which was hundreds of dollars just five years ago, rose 170% in the fourth quarter of last year, reaching about $29,000 at the end of the year, and more than 70% this year alone.
In particular, the surge accelerated last week as it became known that Tesla, an electric car company led by Elon Musk, purchased 1.6 trillion of bitcoin.
Existing mainstream financial companies are also gradually starting to see cryptocurrency as a means of trading or investment, and the situation in which the value of money declines due to low interest rates and it is difficult to find an investment destination is also considered as a background for the surge.
“Companies like Tesla are buying cryptocurrency to make a profit, because many companies are overflowing with cash. They are looking for something to do with it.”
Bitcoin has also skyrocketed in 2017, and its value soared to close to 20,000 dollars, but it plummeted more than 80% the following year.
Cryptocurrency advocates are optimistic about further gains, saying that private investors led the price increase at the time, but this time institutional investors such as global companies and financial companies are joining.
JPMorgan Chase also analyzed that in the long run, it could reach $146,000, or KRW 150 million.
However, the Wall Street Journal said that many financial institutions still have doubts about digital currency investment due to extreme price volatility and lack of usage.
In particular, the fact that global financial authorities such as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and European Central Bank Governor Christine Lagarde are showing critical views is expected to be a big variable in the future.
This is Yonhap News TV from Washington, Lee Kyung-hee.
Yonhap News TV article inquiries and reports: katok/line jebo23
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