[Bitcoin Now] Surpasses 53 Million Won... Attention Focused on Global Financial Sector Participation

Morgan Stanley, New York Mellon Bank Also Handle Bitcoin
Focus on Institutional Inclusion 'Rush'

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has surpassed 53 million KRW, continuing its upward trend day after day. With financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley and Bank of New York Mellon beginning to handle Bitcoin, attention is focused on whether major institutional banks will consecutively enter the cryptocurrency market.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 10:40 AM on the 15th, Bitcoin was recorded at 52.67 million KRW, down about 0.07% compared to the previous day. At 3:01 PM the previous day, it rose to 53.38 million KRW, setting a new high, followed by a slight pause in momentum.

Since Tesla purchased Bitcoin, the global financial sector's perspective on cryptocurrencies has been changing. On the 13th (local time), the U.S. economic media Bloomberg reported that Morgan Stanley Investment Management, an asset management firm under the global investment bank Morgan Stanley, is reviewing Bitcoin investment. The investment entity is the Counterpoint Global team, which manages assets worth approximately $150 billion (about 166 trillion KRW).

Morgan Stanley previously did not recognize the value of cryptocurrencies during the Bitcoin craze in 2017. James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, appeared on the U.S. economic media CNBC in 2017 and said, "Bitcoin is not worth paying attention to." However, in January, Morgan Stanley showed a shift by purchasing a 10.9% stake in MicroStrategy, a U.S. software consulting company holding a total of $3.1 billion in Bitcoin.

The Bank of New York Mellon, the oldest bank in New York, has also started handling cryptocurrencies. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 11th (local time), the Bank of New York Mellon plans to hold, transfer, and issue cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin on behalf of its asset management clients. Roman Regelman, CEO of Asset Servicing and Digital at Bank of New York Mellon, explained the reason for handling cryptocurrencies by stating, "Digital assets have already become part of the mainstream."

The Bank of New York Mellon announced plans to treat Bitcoin the same way as traditional assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds and stocks through the financial networks used for these assets. The bank expects that many clients will entrust their digital assets to the institution following this decision.

Consequently, interest is growing in whether other major banks will also enter the Bitcoin business. On the 12th (local time), CNBC reported that internal discussions about handling Bitcoin have begun at the U.S.'s largest investment banks, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

According to CNBC, thousands of JP Morgan traders and brokers intensely questioned Troy Rohrbaugh, head of JP Morgan Global Markets, about the timing of Bitcoin involvement during an internal meeting in January. Goldman Sachs held an unofficial forum last week by inviting Mike Novogratz, CEO of cryptocurrency investment firm Galaxy Digital.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.