Data from the British Financial Times shows that on December 17, 2017, Bitcoin hit a record high of $19,666. However, a year later, the price of Bitcoin fell by more than 80%, and mining became a loss-making business. Many "mining owners" have to sell their "mining machines" at a discount.
△ CCTV Finance "International Financial Report" column video
According to reports, Bitcoin has repeatedly hit its lowest level since mid-November this year. In more than half a month, the decline exceeded 30%, driving the collective decline of cryptocurrencies. For many small and medium-sized miners, this price has fallen below their mining costs, and they have no choice but to resell their mining machines and cash out.
As currency prices soar, more and more people enter the industry, and they face competition and risks. This round of Bitcoin's plunge is called a "mining disaster" because it fell below the mining cost price.
Meanwhile, other virtual currencies are struggling to survive. In 2018, more than 800 cryptocurrencies around the world existed in name only.
South Korea’s virtual currency enters cold winter: mines close and investors leave
△CCTV Finance "First Time" column video
South Korea is one of the world's major virtual currency trading markets, and the Korean Won settlement transaction volume of Bitcoin once ranked third in the world. From college students, office workers to housewives, and even retired elderly people, people of different identities and ages have joined the ranks of currency speculation.
This craze has spawned a complete industrial chain in South Korea from mining to trade. However, as the craze recedes, related industries have also entered an unprecedented cold winter.
South Korea’s largest Ethereum mining farm entered the industry in early 2018. The cost of mining one Ethereum coin is approximately 240,000 Korean won (approximately RMB 1,477). At that time, the price of Ethereum in the Korean market had just hit a record high of 2.35 million won (approximately RMB 14,000), which was more than 30% higher than the international market. To this end, the mine has started mining with nearly a thousand mining machines. .
However, Ethereum soon began to fluctuate violently, eventually falling below the cost price in November 2018, and the mine was forced to shut down all mining machines.
Bae Yongtai, head of operations at Cailia Mine in South Korea: Electricity accounts for the largest part of the cost, and most mines are no longer able to afford it. As far as I know, 70%-80% of mines have been closed or out of business. Not many.
Data from South Korea's major virtual currency exchanges show that as of December 2018, the prices of major virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple have fallen by more than 80% from their highs during the year, causing investors to suffer heavy losses. losses and leave the market in large numbers. Taking Bitcoin as an example, South Korea's average daily trading volume dropped by more than 50% in December 2018 compared with January.
Data from the Bank of Korea show that in the second half of 2018, the share of settlement transactions in the global virtual currency market has dropped to 5.8%, less than half of the level in the same period in 2017; the premium rate in the Korean market has also dropped from 40% in early 2018 to the recent About 1%.
Li Junxing, Director of South Korea's GOPAX Exchange: It is expected that the price of virtual currencies will hover at a low level or continue to fall in early 2019, and will be in the process of bottoming out and rising at least until the first half of the year.
At the same time, South Korea’s virtual currency market has frequently been exposed to issues such as forged transaction volumes and security vulnerabilities.
Recently, South Korea’s second largest virtual currency exchange was indicted by prosecutors for allegedly falsifying trading volumes. As of early December 2018, South Korean virtual currency exchanges had suffered losses of approximately 700 million yuan due to hacker attacks.
Although the Korean Financial Commission has begun to implement a real-name account authentication system for virtual currency transactions and prohibits banks from opening new virtual accounts for virtual currency transactions, South Korea's existing legal framework cannot provide a comprehensive regulatory basis, and related problems still exist. cannot be effectively solved.
Kim Hyung-joo, President of the Korea Blockchain Industry Promotion Association: The Korean government needs to come up with comprehensive regulatory countermeasures, and Congress also needs to clarify the legal definition of virtual currencies, systematize scattered bills, and introduce special bills targeting virtual currencies.
标签： #Virtual Currency #Bitcoin #Digital Currency #Mining Disaster
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