[Bitcoin Now] Binance Enters NFT Market... Temporarily Recovers to 65 Million Won Range

Nexon Buys Bitcoin Worth 110 Billion Won

On the morning of the 28th, Bitcoin, a representative cryptocurrency, started the market with a slight upward trend, and the coin prices were displayed on the price board at Bithumb Gangnam Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] When Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced its entry into the non-fungible token (NFT) market, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin temporarily recovered to the 65 million KRW range. Meanwhile, major domestic game company Nexon purchased 111.2 billion KRW worth of Bitcoin to offset the declining value of cash.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 10:14 AM on the 28th, Bitcoin recorded 65.89 million KRW, up 1.75% from the previous day. After falling to 54.96 million KRW on the 23rd, it recovered to the 65 million KRW range within five days. As of 2:20 PM on the same day, it showed a slight decline to 63.86 million KRW.

The news of Binance's entry into the NFT market had a positive impact. NFTs are a type of virtual currency that can record asset ownership. Because they are not compatible with other cryptocurrencies, they are suitable for containing unique value and have been spotlighted in the art market. According to the US economic media CNBC on the 27th (local time), Binance announced it will launch its own platform for trading NFTs in June. The platform is composed of a premium market for auctions and exhibitions and a standard trading market accessible to the general public. When auction profits occur in the premium market, 90% of the proceeds, excluding a 10% fee, go to the artist who created the NFT. In the standard trading market, a 1% fee is charged when creating NFTs.

The NFT market has been rapidly growing recently. According to NFT-related data company NonFungible, the total amount of NFTs traded in the first quarter of this year was 2 billion USD (approximately 2.2238 trillion KRW). This is eight times the total transaction amount of 250 million USD for the entire previous year. CNBC expressed concerns about a bubble in the NFT market, mentioning the cryptocurrency initial coin offering (ICO) craze at the end of 2017 and early 2018, which ultimately led to fraud.

Meanwhile, Nexon decided to hold Bitcoin directly. On the 28th, Nexon's Japan headquarters announced that it purchased a total of 1,717 Bitcoins at an average price of 58,226 USD each. According to cryptocurrency data company Bitcoin Treasuries, this places Nexon ninth among private companies in terms of Bitcoin holdings. Owen Mahony, CEO of Nexon, stated, “We purchased Bitcoin to enhance shareholder value and maintain the value of cash assets,” adding, “Bitcoin will continue to provide stability and liquidity in the long term.”

Nexon has shown interest in the cryptocurrency market since the past. In 2017, Nexon's holding company NXC acquired Korbit, one of the four major domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, in 2018, it invested in Bitstamp, regarded as the largest exchange in Europe, and in 2019, in the US cryptocurrency brokerage firm Tagomi. Recently, it also considered acquiring the domestic exchange Bithumb.