Bitcoin

<p>The price of bitcoin has surged significantly as it recorded an 18% increase in the past week, spurred by mounting anticipation surrounding the US’ first spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) propelled by asset management juggernauts BlackRock and Fidelity Investments — a threshold that had not been crossed in over a year. According to CoinMarketCap, bitcoin is trading in the upper $33,000 range as of 5 p.m. KST on Wednesday.</p><h2 id="header-0">Ongoing buildup</h2><p>The approval of a spot bitcoin ETF — long rejected or delayed due to a plethora of reasons like the volatility of cryptocurrencies and their susceptibility to market manipulation — would in the long run open up the possibility for institutions to earmark bitcoin as a major asset that can be integrated into the sphere of traditional finance. This would make bitcoin easier to handle and increase its exposure to traditional investors. “The mere possibility of this development marks a significant shift in the market landscape,” said an unnamed executive at a Korean asset management company in a <a href="https://www.mk.co.kr/news/stock/10857537" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">news article</a> by South Korean news outlet Maeil Business Newspaper.</p><p>BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust, was also <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/blackrock-ibtc-dtcc-etf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">listed on the US Depository Trust &amp; Clearing Corporation (DTCC)’s website</a> with the ticker symbol IBTC on Monday before it mysteriously disappeared the following day. It has since been relisted on the website. The listing is “all part of the process of bringing ETF to market”, as explained by Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas <a href="https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1716529570759704832?s&#61;20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">via his X (formerly Twitter) account</a> on Tuesday.</p><h2 id="header-1">Is a spot bitcoin ETF on the table for Korea?</h2><p>However, Korean experts believe that there are still numerous hurdles to overcome in order for a spot bitcoin ETF to settle in Korea. In particular, some question whether cryptocurrency platforms that offer custodial services can even be classified as exchanges. There is also the issue of bitcoin’s varying prices across different exchanges. Its current price on Upbit, the country’s largest crypto exchange, is in the KRW 45.9 million range as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Local financial authorities have reportedly expressed skepticism about bitcoin ETFs for these reasons, suggesting a murky future for this development becoming a reality in Korea.</p>

As Excitement for First US Spot Bitcoin ETF Intensifies, South Korea Still Faces Mountain to Climb

Table of Contents

CoinNess Global

Other articles published on Oct 25, 2023

Ethereum Whales Withdraw Record Amounts from Exchanges as Price Pops

VZ Stock Price Surges 9%; Correction Over in Verizon Stock?

Theta Network Price Surpasses 50 EMA: Is It The Right Time To Buy?

Glacier Network Announces the Launch of Next Gen SDK Version 2.0 to Accelerate Dapp Development

Mastercard Taps MoonPay to Advance Consumer Connections on Web3

ChainGPT Joins the NVIDIA Inception Program for Startups, Securing $100K in AWS Credits and Acces...

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!