[Bitcoin Now] Despite Powell's Statement on No Cryptocurrency Ban... Hesitation at 53 Million Won Level

Joint Venture Code of Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit Signs MOU with POSTECH to Develop Travel Rule Solution

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The representative cryptocurrency Bitcoin remains around 53 million KRW. Despite Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), expressing that he has no intention to ban cryptocurrencies, the cryptocurrency market is showing little movement.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 2:54 PM on the 1st, Bitcoin recorded 53.65 million KRW, up 0.24% compared to the previous day. It rose to 54 million KRW at 9:37 AM but has since stalled.

Chairman Powell has taken a somewhat favorable stance on cryptocurrencies. According to cryptocurrency specialized media Coindesk on the 30th of last month (local time), Powell said at the House Financial Services Committee, "We have no intention to restrict or ban cryptocurrencies like China." However, he argued that regulation is necessary for stablecoins. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies linked to fiat currencies such as the dollar, with low volatility, serving as a means of payment in the cryptocurrency market.

Powell was previously negative about cryptocurrencies. On July 14th, at a House Financial Services Committee hearing, he suggested the possibility of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by stating, "If the U.S. introduces a digital dollar, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins will become useless." He also explained that the Fed plans to release a report related to the digital dollar. On the 22nd of last month, after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, Powell said at a press conference, "A report containing the results of CBDC research will be released soon."

Meanwhile, among the four major domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, excluding Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit have started developing a Travel Rule exchange linkage solution with POSTECH. The Travel Rule refers to the regulation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requiring virtual asset service providers to collect all real-name information of traders.

According to the industry on the 1st, the joint venture CODE formed by Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with POSTECH to develop the Travel Rule solution. Both parties plan to introduce the Lightning Network to enhance the security of the Travel Rule solution. The Lightning Network is a transaction information storage method that processes individual transactions through separate channels, known to be more cost-efficient than existing methods.

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