[Bitcoin Now] Slight Rise to 39 Million KRW... but Spreading Fear of Delta Variant

CNBC "Investment Sentiment Shifts to Safe Assets Due to COVID-19 Delta Variant"
Senator Elizabeth Warren "Cryptocurrency Is Risky... Because There Are No Sensible Regulations"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Bitcoin, the representative cryptocurrency that had fallen to the 38 million KRW range, slightly rose to the 39 million KRW range. However, the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, which started in India, is stimulating a preference for safe assets, increasing market anxiety.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 2:07 PM on the 9th, Bitcoin recorded 39.12 million KRW, up 0.10% compared to the previous day. It had dropped to 38.12 million KRW at 10:13 AM but then rose by about 1 million KRW.

The cryptocurrency market is becoming unstable due to the COVID-19 Delta variant. On the 8th (local time), U.S. economic media CNBC explained, "There is a fear that the global economic recovery will slow down due to the COVID-19 Delta variant," and "investment sentiment is shifting to safe assets such as government bonds." CNBC also reported that Japan's declaration of a state of emergency ahead of the Tokyo Olympics has unsettled the market.

Previously, Bitcoin also plummeted when COVID-19 spread. In early March last year, Bitcoin was in the 10 million KRW range but fell to 5.48 million KRW in less than half a month. On the 12th of the same month, it also plunged by 33.09%.

Meanwhile, in U.S. politics, the need for regulation of the cryptocurrency market has been raised. According to CNBC on the 8th, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Gary Gensler, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stating, "Cryptocurrency is very opaque and volatile, so it is risky," and "this is because there are no reasonable regulations despite the increase in cryptocurrency demand and exchange users." Earlier, Chairman Gensler said at a financial committee hearing in May, "To address fraud and price manipulation, which are problems in the cryptocurrency market, Congress needs to establish regulatory measures for exchanges."