[Bitcoin Now] Hovering Around 65 Million KRW... "ETF Launching Soon" vs "Main Culprit of Environmental Destruction"

US Current Affairs Weekly 'Time' Actively Adopts Virtual Currency

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin is trading around 65 million won as of 6 a.m. on the 23rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] While the price of the leading virtual currency (cryptocurrency) Bitcoin remains in the 66 million KRW range, experts' forecasts are still divided. Some are raising expectations for the launch of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), but the major U.S. bank Bank of America (BoA) has pointed to Bitcoin as a major culprit of environmental destruction.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, at 4:40 p.m. on the 24th, Bitcoin recorded 66.37 million KRW, down 1.40% from the previous day. It reached the 70 million KRW range on the 18th but fell to the 65 million KRW range within four days and has since struggled to break out of the mid-60 million KRW range.

Some are raising expectations for the launch of a Bitcoin ETF. On the 22nd (local time), John Davie, CEO of Astoria Portfolio Advisors, said in an interview with the U.S. economic media CNBC, "Perceptions of Bitcoin have improved, so the launch of a Bitcoin ETF is a matter of time," adding, "Gary Gensler, the nominee for chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), being favorable to Bitcoin is also a positive factor." Gensler is known to have a high understanding of the cryptocurrency market, having taught blockchain courses during his time as a professor.

On the other hand, BoA expressed a negative stance. On the 22nd, it criticized Bitcoin for destroying the environment in a report titled "The Dirty Secret of Bitcoin." According to the report, the electricity consumption required for Bitcoin mining is comparable to that of airlines or oil companies. Francisco Blanch, a BoA researcher, said, "Electricity consumption used for Bitcoin mining is rapidly increasing," and "The rise in Bitcoin prices ultimately leads to environmental destruction."

Meanwhile, the U.S. news weekly Time is actively embracing virtual currencies. On the 22nd (local time), Keith Grossman, chairman of Time, said on Twitter, "We will build a system within 30 days that allows digital news subscription fees to be paid with virtual currencies." Additionally, Time posted a job opening for a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) specializing in virtual currencies on the professional social networking service LinkedIn on the same day.

Time also plans to enter the non-fungible token (NFT)-based virtual asset market. NFTs, based on the Ethereum cryptocurrency, have recently gained attention in the art market because they are suitable for containing unique value. On the 22nd, Time announced that it would auction three magazine covers as NFTs. The auction will be held on the virtual asset trading platform SuperRare until the 24th.

All the auctioned covers contain similar phrases. First, the cover with the phrase "Is fiat currency dead?" is scheduled to be featured in the issue dated the 29th. This is a play on the controversial April 8, 1966 cover phrase "Is God dead?" which addressed the diminishing role of religion. The article published by Time at that time sparked significant backlash from religious circles immediately after publication. The cover for the 29th is also likely to provoke debate surrounding virtual currencies. The cover phrase for the April 3, 2017 issue was "Is the truth dead?" used to criticize former U.S. President Trump, who treated criticism as fake news.