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In early November 2020, Bitcoin surpassed $ 15,000. 16 million won in won. Bitcoin cost around 10 million won in the summer of 2019. By March 2020, it had plummeted along with other stocks due to the crown crisis, but it started to rise again and now surpassed 16 million won. It was in the second half of 2017 that the bitcoin craze broke out in Korea and around the world. Bitcoin, which was 1 million won in January 2017, surpassed 6 million won in the fall of 2017. There was a speculation fever and Bitcoin became a major problem across the country. That bitcoin topped 9 million won and more than 10 million won was treated as big news in the media and broadcasting.
As the bitcoin craze broke out, the story of regulation began to emerge. At the time, the Minister of Justice announced that he would abolish cryptocurrency exchange and completely banned the issuance of new cryptocurrencies. Although he announced regulations on cryptocurrencies, the price of bitcoin did not go down, but continued to rise. Stricter regulations continued to be announced. Finally, it even regulated banking transactions on cryptocurrency exchanges. It banned the issuance of bank accounts that allowed cryptocurrency transactions and ultimately made it impossible for new entrants to buy cryptocurrencies.
This strong regulation on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies continued because bitcoin was seen as a scam, a step, and a horse speculation. Bitcoin is said to replace currency, but it is impossible. Bitcoin is a phenomenon created by speculators who are simply looking for a price difference. Good people had to save themselves from bitcoin scammers, which is why many regulations were announced.
At that time, there were also many people who were opposed to bitcoin regulation. Bitcoin opposed the regulation of bitcoin because it is a new phenomenon, it is the future, and blockchain technology related to cryptocurrencies will lead the fourth industrial revolution. However, these claims were not accepted by regulatory supervisors. It was the perception of regulatory supervisors that the value of bitcoin is zero, that in a few years it will disappear, and the bitcoin phenomenon is an illusion.
In January 2018, the cryptocurrency crashed. Bitcoin, which had risen to 24 million won in Korea, fell to 4 million won in the fall of 2018. It seemed right that Bitcoin was just speculation and fantasy. Neither the government nor the media were interested in Bitcoin anymore.
But after that, Bitcoin kept going up. It does not skyrocket like in 2017, but it has gradually increased. Finally, it has surpassed 16 million won. When it surpassed 16 million won in 2017, all of Korean society was in an uproar, but now it is calm. Bitcoin was not a version of speculators looking for a price difference, and it was not an illusion that would disappear after a year or two. It was not a worthless digital signal. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be possible to trade at a price of more than 10 million won worldwide for several years?
How did those who argued that bitcoin was a scam in 2017 and insisted on strict regulation and implemented it now do it? Are you still arguing that Bitcoin is just a scam and speculation? In fact, no one knows what Bitcoin will look like in the future. It is a new technology and phenomenon that has not existed. Nobody knows the future of these technologies. But why did regulators create so many regulations with the strong belief that bitcoin is just wishful thinking?
Nobody knows the future. Isn’t it ridiculous to confidently regulate things you don’t know about? At the time, comments from Korean regulators such as ‘Bitcoin is a scam’ and ‘Bitcoin will be gone in a few years’ will be cited as an example of criticism of how self-confident Korean regulators were regulating at the time.
The future must be open. From that point of view, we need to regulate. You should not regulate yourself the way you know the future.
[최성락 동양미래대학교 교수][ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
