Bitcoin Approaching $20,000... Positive Evaluations Also Expanding

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] As Bitcoin, the number one cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is gaining momentum again this year, positive perceptions of virtual currencies are spreading.

According to cryptocurrency site CoinMarketCap on the 22nd, Bitcoin surpassed $16,000 on the 16th, $17,000 on the 17th, and $18,000 on the 18th. It is the first time in three years that Bitcoin's price has exceeded $18,000. There are forecasts that it will soon reach its all-time high of $19,665 in December 2017.

Bitcoin has been attracting attention as an alternative safe asset since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) this year. On the 21st of last month, U.S. online payment company PayPal announced plans to allow trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on its platform, sparking the upward trend. Expectations have grown that Bitcoin will be usable at more than 26 million merchants where PayPal payments are accepted.

The shift in perception among prominent cryptocurrency skeptics is also noteworthy. Nouriel Roubini, a professor at New York University who was negative about cryptocurrencies to the extent of calling them "the mother of all frauds and bubbles" at a U.S. Senate hearing in October 2018, said in an interview with Yahoo Finance on the 13th that Bitcoin is "not scalable, not secure, not decentralized, and not a currency," but added that "it could partially serve as a store of value."

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, gave a positive evaluation of blockchain technology, the foundation of cryptocurrencies, at an event hosted by the NYT on the 18th, saying it is "important for moving money more cheaply." In the past, CEO Dimon criticized Bitcoin as a scam and said it was "worse than tulip bulbs that caused the speculative bubble in the 17th century."

Institutional financial firm Fidelity launched its first Bitcoin fund in August this year. The assets under management of Grayscale, the world's largest cryptocurrency asset manager, recently reached $10.4 billion, a 75% increase compared to September. Competitor CoinShares also saw its assets under management grow by 150% this year.