Yoo Si-min Criticizes Cryptocurrency Investment: "Why Buy Fake Money When You Can Use Real Money?"

"Bitcoin Keeps Rising Even After Saying It Will Eventually Fail"
Previously Warned "Never Touch It"

Writer Yoo Si-min criticized cryptocurrency investment. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Gun-chan] Writer Yoo Si-min, who previously argued against the usefulness of cryptocurrencies, has repeatedly criticized coin investments.

On the 12th, Yoo appeared on MBC Radio's 'Pyo Chang-won's News High Kick' and responded to the host's question, "Many people are suffering because of cryptocurrencies," by saying, "I don't think this is over yet," and "No one knows whose view is correct."

He added, "Cryptocurrencies were somewhat like a mysterious toy, and there was a trend to justify them simply because they were based on some revolutionary and new blockchain technology," and criticized, "These people cleverly conducted initial sales, and there are a few cases where they made some money from that, which the media and others have used to hype this up."

Yoo compared cryptocurrency investment to gambling and expressed a critical stance. He said, "Even after saying that Bitcoin's price is a scam and will eventually collapse, it kept rising," emphasizing, "From an economic common sense perspective, this has to come to an end." He continued, "Other forms of gambling are prohibited and punished by law, but this gambling is not punished," and said, "I think it is thriving because people can gamble freely."

Writer Yoo Si-min pointed out the value stability of virtual currency on the JTBC broadcast program in December 2017. Photo by JTBC 'Ssulzun'

In particular, Yoo expressed the opinion that cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value. He said, "They advertise altcoins, or alternative coins, as if they are better, but in reality, they have almost nothing to do with blockchain and are just minted and called listings, which is ridiculous," adding, "I don't understand why people buy fake money with real, legitimate money."

Earlier, Yoo had warned against the cryptocurrency craze since late 2017, saying, "Never get involved." In December 2017, he appeared on JTBC's 'Ssulzun' and said, "As someone who majored in economics, I want to advise you not to touch it," criticizing it as "like gambling, similar to 'Bada Story' (a gambling game)."

In January 2018, during an emergency debate on JTBC Newsroom, Yoo argued, "Currency must serve as a medium of exchange and have stable value," and stated, "Cryptocurrencies are not used as a means of transaction and have high volatility, so they cannot be considered currency."

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