[Bitcoin Now] Sideways at $16,000... Dogecoin Surges 10%

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] While the price of the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin is hovering around $16,000, Dogecoin is showing an increase of over 10% compared to the previous day.

According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 10:18 AM on the 28th, the price of Bitcoin was recorded at $16,434 (approximately 21.98 million KRW), down 0.24% from the previous day.

Bitcoin's price has been testing support around $16,000 since the FTX bankruptcy filing incident. Craig Erlam, Senior Market Analyst at global investment firm OANDA, said, "(Bitcoin's price) is trying to maintain stability around $15,500 to $17,000," but added, "It will not be easy to sustain the price." He further analyzed, "More events may occur due to the aftermath of the FTX bankruptcy," and "The price volatility will intensify, making cryptocurrency market participants nervous."

At the same time, Dogecoin, one of the major altcoins, is trading at $0.098 (approximately 131 KRW), up 10.63% from the previous day. Cryptocurrency specialized media CoinDesk pointed out that Dogecoin has surged sharply since the U.S. Thanksgiving on the 24th.

The surge in Dogecoin appears to be influenced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinting that he might create his own smartphone. On the 26th (local time), Musk tweeted, "If there is no other option, I will make an alternative smartphone." This post was a response to a previous tweet by a conservative U.S. influencer who said, "If Apple and Google remove Twitter from their app stores, Musk will have to make his own smartphone."

The downward trend of WEMIX, which was decided to end trading support on the five major domestic exchanges by the joint cryptocurrency exchange council (DAXA), continues. At the same time, WEMIX recorded $0.3904 (approximately 522 KRW), down 8.43% from the previous day.

Meanwhile, the previously frozen cryptocurrency investment sentiment is gradually thawing. According to cryptocurrency data provider Alternative, the Fear & Greed Index, which indicates investment sentiment as an index, rose 2 points from the previous day to 28 points (fear) on this day. Alternative's Fear & Greed Index means that the closer to 0 points, the more extreme fear and pessimism investors feel about investing, and the closer to 100 points, the more optimistic they are.