[Bitcoin Now] Surpasses 79 Million Won... Total Coin Market Cap Exceeds 2200 Trillion Won

Institutional Investor Inflow Drives Consecutive Record Highs

On the morning of the 6th, the Bitcoin price is displayed on the Upbit Lounge price ticker board at the cryptocurrency exchange in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has surpassed 79 million KRW. The news that MicroStrategy, the private company holding the most Bitcoin, has made additional Bitcoin purchases appears to have had a positive impact. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies also exceeded $2 trillion (approximately 2,248.4 trillion KRW).

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 9:40 AM on the 6th, Bitcoin recorded 79.5 million KRW, up about 0.93% compared to the previous day. After rebounding from the 71 million KRW range on the 5th to the 75 million KRW range, it set new all-time highs for consecutive days. As of 11:21 AM, it showed 78.39 million KRW.

The news of MicroStrategy's additional Bitcoin purchase seems to have acted as a positive factor. On the 5th (local time), Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, tweeted, “We purchased an additional 253 Bitcoins at an average price of $59,339,” and stated, “MicroStrategy currently holds a total of 91,579 Bitcoins with an average price of $24,311.”

CEO Saylor has been actively purchasing Bitcoin for some time. Since announcing his intention to buy Bitcoin in August last year, he has invested more than 80% of the company's assets. The result has been successful. The capital gains based on the current price amount to about 4.5 trillion KRW. The company's stock price has also risen. As of the closing price on the 5th, it was $720.55, about a 70% increase compared to the early-year price of $425.

The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has exceeded $2 trillion. According to the cryptocurrency data site CoinGecko, as of the same time, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies was approximately $2.0302 trillion. This is double the amount from three months after surpassing $1 trillion on January 7. On the 5th, the U.S. economic media Bloomberg analyzed that the market exceeded $2 trillion because institutional investors such as MicroStrategy and Tesla actively participated in the cryptocurrency market.

Meanwhile, there are concerns that the so-called “Kimchi Premium” affects domestic Bitcoin prices, requiring caution. The Kimchi Premium refers to cases where domestic cryptocurrency prices are higher than overseas prices. According to the overseas cryptocurrency exchange Binance, at the same time, Bitcoin was priced at $59,277, about 12.9 million KRW lower than the domestic price. Earlier this year, overseas Bitcoin was actually about 810,000 KRW more expensive, but since last month, domestic investors have flooded the cryptocurrency market, causing the Kimchi Premium to start increasing. The Kimchi Premium is generally interpreted as meaning that the domestic cryptocurrency market is more overheated and inflated. Previously, during the cryptocurrency craze in 2018, the Kimchi Premium, which was only about 5%, rose to as much as 40% in a short period.