Financial institution of Korea chief says crypto has no intrinsic worth, expects volatility

Amid a significant downward correction within the cryptocurrency market, the top of South Korea’s central financial institution is skeptical about digital currencies like Bitcoin (BTC).

Financial institution of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol stated that crypto belongings like Bitcoin don’t have any intrinsic worth, native information company Yonhap experiences Tuesday. The official stated that he expects extra worth swings in the marketplace, stating, “It is vitally tough to foretell the worth, however its worth can be extraordinarily risky.”

Talking on the Nationwide Meeting, Lee additionally addressed doable causes behind the current sharp crypto rally, which led Bitcoin to turn out to be a $1 trillion asset. The BOK governor cited quite a lot of components together with international issues over extreme inflation, rising institutional curiosity, in addition to a large $1.5 billion Bitcoin buy by Elon Musk’s Tesla.

“These belongings noticed a steep rise within the shortest time period,” Lee said. “I might say institutional traders’ evaluation of utilizing bitcoins as a hedge could possibly be interpreted as one other issue.” 

Based on The Korea Occasions, Lee claimed that the BOK is progressing with its central financial institution digital forex. “The financial institution is near finishing our evaluation of designs and related applied sciences relating to bank-controlled digital currencies,” he stated. As beforehand reported, the financial institution issued a ebook on authorized points surrounding CBDCs in early February.

Bitcoin noticed a steep correction on Feb. 22, with its worth plunging from above $58,000 to under $48,000. United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticized Bitcoin in an interview on Monday, stating that the world’s largest cryptocurrency is “extraordinarily inefficient manner of conducting transactions.”