[Bitcoin Now] First Breakthrough Over 73 Million Won... More Institutions Flock In

Bitcoin Hits All-Time High... Institutional Entry Faster Than Expected

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has surpassed 73 million KRW. This appears to be due to institutional investors entering the market faster than expected.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 5:45 AM on the 2nd, Bitcoin recorded an all-time high of 73.32 million KRW, up about 2.5% from the previous day. This is the first time it has exceeded the 73 million KRW mark. As of 11:19 AM on the same day, it showed a slight decline to 72.89 million KRW.

Interest in Bitcoin seems to have surged as institutional investors participated in cryptocurrency investments more than anticipated. On the 1st (local time), Michael Novogratz, CEO of cryptocurrency investment firm Galaxy Digital, said in an interview with the U.S. economic media CNBC, "I was surprised by how quickly financial institutions are entering the cryptocurrency market," adding, "At this rate, it will definitely surpass the market capitalization of gold." According to the global asset data platform CompaniesMarketCap, as of the same time, gold's market capitalization is $10.9 trillion (approximately 1,229.2 trillion KRW), about 10 times larger than Bitcoin's.

In fact, recently institutional investors have been actively entering the cryptocurrency market. On the 29th of last month, Goldman Sachs, the largest bank in the U.S., announced that starting from the second quarter, it will offer cryptocurrency financial products to investors with at least $25 million. On the 16th of last month, Morgan Stanley, a major U.S. investment bank, also announced plans to operate a Bitcoin fund. Morgan Stanley invested capital in the cryptocurrency investment firm New York Digital Investment Group.

More institutional investors are expected to participate in the cryptocurrency market going forward. According to U.S. economic media Bloomberg on the 1st, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, investment strategist at JP Morgan, the largest U.S. investment bank, said, "Analyzing Bitcoin's volatility over the past three months, it has dropped from over 90% in February to 86%, and extending the range to six months, it decreases to 73%," predicting, "If Bitcoin's volatility decreases, more institutional investors will participate."