[Bitcoin Now] Santa Rally Gains Receded... Dropping to 58 Million Won Range

Iran Government Bans Cryptocurrency Mining Over Winter Power Outage Concerns

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[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has fallen to the 58 million KRW range. Although Bitcoin slightly rose due to the Santa rally, a price increase in assets ahead of Christmas, it soon gave back all the gains. Unlike before, investor sentiment is showing little sign of recovery.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 2:52 PM on the 29th, Bitcoin was recorded at 58.1 million KRW, down 0.30% from the previous day. The day before, Bitcoin dropped 5.26%, falling below the 60 million KRW mark. It is the first time in five days since the 23rd that it has fallen below 60 million KRW.

Bitcoin rode the Santa rally ahead of Christmas. From the 21st to the 24th, Bitcoin rose about 8.4%, attracting investors' attention. On the 24th, it even rose to 62.85 million KRW.

However, it is interpreted that there is a lack of growth momentum as investor sentiment is not gathering. According to the cryptocurrency market data site CoinMarketCap, from Christmas to the 28th, Bitcoin's average 24-hour trading volume was $24.43744 billion (approximately 28.9901 trillion KRW). On the 25th, it decreased to as low as $19.0307 billion, indicating a sluggish market. When Bitcoin prices surged sharply in April this year, the trading volume soared to $77.45178 billion.

Meanwhile, the Iranian government has imposed a ban on cryptocurrency mining due to concerns about power outages in winter. According to the US economic media Bloomberg on the 28th (local time), the Iranian government issued an order to shut down cryptocurrency mining centers last month. The closure will continue until March 6 next year. According to Iranian authorities, cryptocurrency mining companies consumed more than 600 megawatts (MW) of electricity, interfering with residential power usage.

In Iran, power shortages frequently occur due to cryptocurrency mining. In May, power outages occurred for three days in some cities including Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz. At that time, the Iranian government pointed to cryptocurrency mining as the cause of the outages and banned cryptocurrency mining for four months starting in May this year to secure electricity.

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