Sometime back, I got a Bitcoin expert in Malaysia to tell us a bit more about Bitcoin. Read here:Expert Series: Bitcoin questions answered by Suraya (ringgitohringgit.com) Right after that, bitcoin prices has been going on an uptrend. Of course, the uptrend has nothing to do with the interview. 🙂 The latest price as per google is as per image. 1 Bitcoin is worth US$2,534.78 (RM10,840). The South Korean government would be auctioning off a total of 216 bitcoins that it confiscated during a 2016 criminal investigation. (Yes, it’s way back in 2016). The value of the 216 bitcoins? Over US$500 million, as per latest bitcoin price. What did the individual do which caused him to be arrested? He was operating an obscenity website. According to the article, this will be the first time that a country’s government will be auctioning off a load of bitcoins. Here’s the full article in coindesk.com: South Korean government to auction US$540k in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin auction by South Korean government. Interesting.
What would the South Korean gain from this auction? Based on the article, final bid could be slightly lower than the market price, which is currently at approximately $2,525, according to CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.
The Korea Asset Management Corporation is the country’s asset management operation that oversees state-owned properties and development. It said that digital currencies such as bitcoin can be auctioned off by the government because they are not considered as non-auctionable assets by the South Korean law. From the auction, 3 percent of the auction amount would be considered as auction fee while the remaining will be returned to treasury. Currently, the bitcoin market in South Korea is booming. The domestic exchange platforms Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone have seen significant increases in trade volume in recent months. The article quoted data from CoinMarketCap, showing the Korean won contributing to 32.26 per cent of the trading volume of ethers, the cryptocurrency of the ethereum network.
I do not own any bitcoin currently. It’s too volatile for me. However, if anyone were to ask me if I now see bitcoin as gaining more popularity, I think the answer is a firm yes. Some other developments? Bitcoin has been legalised by the Japanese government since April. It says that bitcoin is accepted as a legal payment method. Read here. In brief, it will be even more popular in Japan. Meanwhile Morgan Stanley says that it does not believe bitcoin would be a viable currency in the future. It says that it views bitcoin as an asset rather than a currency. The reason is because its value is too volatile to be used as payment. To those who bought earlier, I think you now have a ‘paper’ gain. Do monitor the price closely and all the best yeah. Do visit ringgitohringgit for more bitcoin related news. Cheers.
written on 17 June 2017
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