Bitcoin, a virtual asset leader, is on a slight rise as the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rise in November slowed more than expected. Just before the announcement, Bitcoin went from KRW 22 million to KRW 23 million on the 14th.
The virtual asset industry is paying attention to the results of the recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting, as the liquidity crisis is more severe in the aftermath of the FTX bankruptcy.
Virtual asset market trend on the 14th. (Photo = Coin Market Cap)
According to CoinMarketCap, a global virtual asset market relay site, Bitcoin prices rose 3.35% from the previous day to KRW 2.31 million as of 2:50 p.m. At the same time, Altcoin’s large share Ethereum price rose 3.63% from the previous day to 1.7 million won. Many altcoins, including Doji Coin, Carnado, Polygon, Solana, and Tron, are on a 3-6% rise compared to the previous day.
However, skepticism remains that Bitcoin is a speculative asset with no intrinsic value. Bitcoin has already shown high volatility since the Luna crisis, but as it falters further in the aftermath of the FTX bankruptcy, the view that legal currencies such as dollars cannot be supplemented or replaced is getting stronger.
Recently, Goldman Sachs evaluated gold as better than Bitcoin in the long run in terms of diversification of its investment portfolio. Goldman Sachs said in an investment report on the 12th, “Gold is less affected by the tight financial environment and is more useful in diversifying its portfolio.” It also pointed out that gold has developed in a way that is used non-speculative, but Bitcoin is still looking for a place to use it.
The reason for the growing skepticism about the virtual asset market is that decentralization, which is the main value of the blockchain, is not being realized properly. Luna was once one of the top 10 virtual assets projects in Korea, and FTX was the second-largest global exchange used by 1.2 million people, but beyond business failures, investigators are investigating allegations of fraud such as embezzlement of funds.
In particular, the aftermath of FTX continues to affect the virtual asset market. Binance, the world’s No. 1 exchange, has recently suspended the withdrawal of stable coin USDC, raising concerns. The move was made due to the increase in USDC withdrawals, but this led to a large outflow of funds.