[Bitcoin Now] Surpasses $46,700 After Over Three Months... Trading Volume Up 76%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Bitcoin prices continue to rise following U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's cryptocurrency-friendly remarks.

According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 10:52 a.m. on the 28th, Bitcoin was priced at $46,740 (approximately 57.28 million KRW), up 4.72% from the previous day. At the same time, according to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, Bitcoin was trading at 56.07 million KRW, up 0.21% (120,000 KRW) from the previous day. This is the first time Bitcoin has reached the $46,700 level since January 5 of this year.

Bitcoin prices have been on the rise following Secretary Yellen's cryptocurrency-friendly comments. On the 26th (local time), according to cryptocurrency media CoinDesk, Secretary Yellen stated, "We know that the benefits of cryptocurrencies are growing and that they can have a positive impact on innovation in payment systems." She added, "The cryptocurrency market has clearly grown exponentially and plays an important role in Americans' investment decisions," and "We will strive to create a regulatory environment that supports continuous innovation." CoinDesk explained that these remarks reflect Secretary Yellen's acceptance of President Joe Biden's executive order earlier this month, which called for a regulatory approach to promote innovation in cryptocurrencies.

Additionally, Bitcoin prices rose after news on the 24th that Russia is considering allowing payment for oil and natural gas not only in rubles but also in the importing countries' currencies and Bitcoin. There are also suspicions that the Luna Foundation, which issued the cryptocurrency Terra, purchased $125 million (approximately 153.2 billion KRW) worth of Bitcoin earlier this week, which seems to have influenced the market. The Luna Foundation has announced plans to increase its Bitcoin holdings to $1 billion (approximately 1.2252 trillion KRW).

Bitcoin trading volume is also on the rise. According to CoinMarketCap, the 24-hour Bitcoin trading volume increased by 76.06% compared to the previous day, reaching $30,586,207,017 (approximately 37.4803 trillion KRW).

The digital asset Fear & Greed Index operated by Dunamu, the operator of the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, recorded a level of 63.52, indicating a 'Greed' phase. Compared to 50.68 (Neutral) on the 21st of this month, a week ago, this is an increase of 12.84 points. Dunamu's digital asset Fear & Greed Index is divided into 'Extreme Fear (0?20)', 'Fear (20?40)', 'Neutral (40?60)', 'Greed (60?80)', and 'Extreme Greed (80?100)'. A movement toward greed indicates increased interest in buying among market participants, whereas a movement toward fear reflects a fear of asset decline, leading to market exits and a chain reaction of price drops.