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Bitcoin Frenzy Hits South Koreans

  • [아시아뉴스통신] Timothy Montales 기자
  • 송고시간 2018-06-19 17:56
  • 뉴스홈 > 국제
Photo by: Emmanuel Dyan via flickr

Bitcoin has found an enormous number of investors in South Korea, reported CNN.
 


Koreans have already caught up with the craze.From students to average workers to grandparents, this digital currency has been traded in between classes at schools, at the office canteen, and right in the comfort of their homes.
 


Three of the largest bitcoin exchanges in the world are in South Korea.Just on a single day, as much as 20 percent of all bitcoin trades across the globe were made by Koreans.
 


College student Isaac Chung told CNN that initially, “tech people” were the ones trading bitcoin, but “now literally everyone” has decided to try it.Chung said that he already made several thousands of dollars from it.


 


The interest and demand have been so huge that Koreans are willing to pay a premium – called “Kimchi Premium,” after the country’s popular vegetable dish – that could go as high as 15-25 percent.
 


The government has noticed its popularity and announced this month that it would form a task force to investigate cryptocurrency issues in the country.It also expressed concern that bitcoin exchanges might be the future target of North Korean hackers.
 


Tokyo-based Kittitian/Nevisian investor Roger Ver, the CEO of Bitcoin.com, said through the website, that this virtual currency has been mankind’s greatest invention of all time.
 


Created in 2009, the New York Times reported that the identity of its creator remains unverified because the person strictly prefers to communicate through email and forums.
 


The creator’s name is allegedly Satoshi Nakamoto, which could be just a pseudonym.In addition, the person could either be a man or a woman, according to Larry Kim, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Massachusetts-based search marketing company WordStream.
 


Kim, writing for Inc.com, added that the idea of a group of people or companies being the geniuses behind the creation of bitcoin has also been entertained.