[Bitcoin Now] Over 60 Million Won in 2 Weeks... Hedge Tool Emerges Amid Weak Dollar

Continuing Uptrend Surpasses 60 Million Won
Emerges as Hedge Amid Dollar Weakness and Inflation Concerns
Foreign Companies Begin Investing One After Another

Image source=Getty Images

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has surpassed the 60 million KRW mark again after two weeks. The price increase appears to be driven by Bitcoin emerging as a hedge against dollar weakness and inflation-related loss risks.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 11 a.m. on the 9th, Bitcoin recorded 61.61 million KRW, up about 3% from the previous day. This marks the return to the 60 million KRW level for the first time since the 23rd of last month, two weeks ago.

This seems to be influenced by the U.S. financial sector identifying Bitcoin as a hedge amid the dollar's weakness. According to U.S. economic media Yahoo Finance on the 7th, George Ball, chairman of U.S. asset management firm Sanders Morris Harris, said, “Bitcoin will be a good hedge against dollar weakness,” adding, “Institutional investors and wealthy individual investors have already chosen Bitcoin to prepare for inflation.”

Institutional investors and celebrities have long stated their intention to use Bitcoin as a hedge against dollar weakness. On the 18th of last month, the world’s largest asset management firm BlackRock added Bitcoin futures to its investment asset list. Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO), explained, “With ongoing inflation and increasing debt levels, we chose Bitcoin as a new investment destination.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk also tweeted on the 19th of last month, “Holding Bitcoin is less dumb than holding cash when the real interest rate of fiat currency is negative.”

Companies outside the U.S. have also contributed to the upward trend by including Bitcoin in their assets. According to U.S. economic media MarketWatch on the 8th, Chinese camera application (app) developer Meitu disclosed that it purchased about 40 million USD worth of cryptocurrencies. The purchased cryptocurrencies consist of 22 million USD in Bitcoin and 18 million USD in Ethereum. Meitu stated, “Cryptocurrencies still have room to rise, and we purchased them for asset diversification purposes.”

Norwegian oil company Aker has also entered the cryptocurrency market. According to U.S. economic media Bloomberg on the 7th, Aker established a subsidiary called ‘Seetee’ to conduct Bitcoin and blockchain business. Aker announced plans to invest 500 million NOK (approximately 66.84 billion KRW) in the subsidiary and hold all of it in cryptocurrencies.

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