Bitcoin Surpasses $72,000... Hits Record High Over 100 Million KRW Domestically (Comprehensive)

The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin's price has surpassed $72,000, continuing its record-breaking rally. For the first time ever, it exceeded 100 million KRW on domestic exchanges.

According to the US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, on the 11th (local time) at around 7:40 AM Eastern Time, Bitcoin's price broke through $72,000. This follows Bitcoin's historic breakthrough of $70,000 on the 8th, continuing its high-flying streak day after day. As of 7:20 AM Korean time, Bitcoin is trading at $72,750.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Bitcoin's price has surged 68% since the beginning of this year. This upward trend is attributed to favorable factors such as expectations of the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate cuts and the trading of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bloomberg reported that since the US approved the listing of 11 Bitcoin ETFs in January, the inflow of funds is estimated to have reached $10 billion (approximately 13 trillion KRW).

In particular, the breakthrough of the $72,000 level on this day was noted by the news agency as being due to the UK regulatory authorities hinting at the possibility of approving cryptocurrency-related exchange-traded notes (ETNs). The UK's Financial Conduct Authority announced that it would not oppose requests from exchanges to approve cryptocurrency ETN trading. ETNs are derivative financial products designed to track the returns of underlying assets. Unlike ETFs issued by asset management companies, ETNs are issued on the credit of securities firms and have maturities.

The London Stock Exchange also announced in a separate statement that it will accept listing applications for Ethereum ETNs alongside Bitcoin starting from the second quarter. On this day, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surpassed $4,000 for the first time since December 2021.

The US economic media outlet CNBC reported, "Bitcoin bulls are focusing on the approval of cryptocurrency ETNs as a factor that will contribute to additional institutional investor inflows," adding, "It is expected that funds flowing into the market through ETNs will have a positive impact on prices."

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's price surpassed 100 million KRW for the first time ever on domestic exchanges at around 4:30 PM on the 11th. Bitcoin had surpassed the 83 million KRW level on the 28th of last month, breaking the previous high of 82.7 million KRW on November 9, 2021, and has recently been trading in the 90 million KRW range.