[Bitcoin Now] Citigroup Claims "Usable for International Trade," Surges Back to 55 Million Won Range

Citigroup Claims "Can Be Used as an International Trade Settlement Method"
Power Consumption Is an Obstacle... ESG Concerns May Cause Institutional Investors to Hesitate

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Bitcoin, the representative virtual currency (cryptocurrency) that had fallen to the 49 million KRW range, sharply rebounded to the 55 million KRW range. This is interpreted as renewed investor sentiment following Citigroup's claim that it could be used as a means of international trade settlement. Meanwhile, MicroStrategy, the private company holding the largest amount of Bitcoin, decided to increase its Bitcoin holdings further.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 11 a.m. on the 2nd, Bitcoin recorded 56,213,000 KRW, down about 0.4% compared to the previous day. At 9:25 a.m. on the same day, it even rose to 57,405,000 KRW. This contrasts with the atmosphere when it fell to 49,755,000 KRW at 3:01 a.m. the previous day.

The news that the U.S. Citigroup claimed Bitcoin could be used as an international trade settlement method in the future appears to have been a positive factor. According to CNBC on the 28th (local time), Citigroup stated in a report that Bitcoin could become a means of international trade settlement in the future. It also explained that institutional investors are accepting Bitcoin favorably, which is different from the 2018 frenzy.

However, it pointed out that Bitcoin's power consumption issue is an obstacle to attracting institutional investment. Citigroup explained, "Because Bitcoin mining consumes a large amount of power, institutional investors will be concerned about ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues." According to a study by the University of Cambridge in the UK published in August last year, the annual power consumption of the global Bitcoin mining industry is 63.32 terawatts per hour, which is similar to the power generated by seven 1-gigawatt nuclear power plants.

The largest U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs plans to resume trading cryptocurrency-related products. On the 1st (local time), Bloomberg quoted an anonymous Goldman Sachs official saying, "Goldman Sachs has decided to set up a cryptocurrency trading desk by mid-month to respond to the surge in cryptocurrencies." The cryptocurrency trading desk will sell Bitcoin futures, offshore forward products, and more. Goldman Sachs had opened a trading desk in 2018 but closed it when the cryptocurrency market slumped.

Meanwhile, MicroStrategy, the private company holding the largest amount of Bitcoin, announced that it purchased more Bitcoin. According to Bloomberg on the 1st (local time), Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, said on Twitter, "We used $15 million (about 1.6756 billion KRW) to purchase an additional 328 Bitcoins." As a result, MicroStrategy's total Bitcoin holdings increased to 90,859. Based on the price on that day, it amounts to about 5.07 trillion KRW.

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