[Bitcoin Now] Recovery to 74 Million Won Range... El Salvador Purchases Additional 420 Bitcoins

Facebook Announces Plans to Utilize NFTs in Metaverse Business

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has risen to the 74 million KRW range. This is interpreted as having a positive impact following news that El Salvador, a Central and South American country that adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, made additional Bitcoin purchases.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 10:40 AM on the 29th, Bitcoin recorded 74.37 million KRW, up 1.72% compared to the previous day. Although it had somewhat stalled after falling to 70.18 million KRW on the 27th, it is showing signs of a rebound.

The news of El Salvador's additional Bitcoin purchase acted as a positive factor. According to cryptocurrency specialized media CoinDesk on the 28th (local time), the El Salvador government purchased 420 Bitcoins for 25 million USD (29.27 billion KRW). This means they bought each Bitcoin at approximately 69.69 million KRW. The total number of Bitcoins held by El Salvador has reached 1,120.

El Salvador is one of the most Bitcoin-friendly countries. In September, El Salvador attracted global attention by becoming the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. However, the citizens' response has been negative. On the 17th of last month, about 4,000 citizens gathered in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, to protest against President Nayib Bukele’s policies, including the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.

Meanwhile, Facebook announced plans to utilize non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in its business going forward. NFTs refer to cryptocurrencies that record digital assets with scarcity using unique identification values. According to CoinDesk on the 28th, Vishal Shah, head of Facebook’s Metaverse division, said, “Facebook’s Metaverse will support NFT functionality,” adding, “Through this, people will be able to sell, exhibit, and resell limited edition digital assets.”

This was announced alongside news that Facebook is making a full-scale entry into the Metaverse business. To demonstrate its commitment to strengthening the Metaverse business, Facebook also changed its company name to ‘Meta.’ Additionally, it plans to launch a Metaverse-related fund worth 150 million USD. On the 28th, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, explained the reason for entering the Metaverse business at the ‘Facebook Connect’ conference, saying, “Today, technology connects more people as if they can go anywhere and do anything through the Metaverse.”

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