Bitcoin Forum

I'm also a crypto industry worker, but these days, the Korean crypto market seems to be really too dangerous. It is becoming more speculative than investment, very concerned. Along with the frenzy of cryptos following real estate and stocks, the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and wider, and this seems to flow in the opposite direction to the value we hoped for through bitcoin, which is very frustrating.

Just like how it's been.. since forever? :P

We've been through such hype cycles in the past, and like it or not it will happen again some time in the future. Some people will make money by holding long-term, and some will get burned by buying the top and panicking when it goes down temporarily. It's unfortunate, but that's how the market works.

Yeah well, that doesn't surprise me.  The rich are always going to have more capital to invest in things like bitcoin and they're the ones who reap the most benefit from doing so.  I don't think the poor have much use for bitcoin at all, despite what a lot of people have said over the years about it being able to help the unbanked--and that's not exclusive to Korea or any part of the world, either.

It also doesn't surprise me that bitcoin is booming in Korea, and I'm sure a lot of Koreans are over-investing in it just like people all around the world did in 2017.  That's just what happens when you've got an asset that keeps making new all-time highs.  It's a gamble, but I'm sure a lot of Koreans are going to come out ahead, rich or poor.

Bitcoin was always a speculative asset! Since when did you see value investing in bitcoin market? Even if you have seen, that's a very minor percentage of the the crypto users. Bitcoin is flourishing around the world because people are able to make money out of it. If its price comes down to zero, no one would care about it anymore!

Also bitcoin never actually helped the disparity between the rich and poor. It had a chance to do so during its initial days but that's long gone! My suggestion is to think about yourself and get into the game to make your pocket a little more heavier!

I'm not understanding your complaint you are making here. Are you like saying Korea has a different crypto market different from that we know and deal in? You can't talk about Korea as operating in a separate crypto market, we are all involved that why the nature of cryptocurrency is decentralized. Yes it is volatility and dangerous that you can get a lesser value for your investment at the long time. But you can explain better if you mean Korea having a different crypto market.

It simply means that Koreans see cryptocurrency as an opportunity to invest and gain a good profit but that doesn't mean that it would be a competition for rich and poor people. It's just that rich people have a bigger capital which is an advantage but that's how the crypto game works. The bigger the capital, the bigger the profit so you should just deal with it instead of stressing out yourself. It's actually a good thing that crypto is being recognized in most countries in Asia.

It seems that Korea is on the same path as any other country, stocks have been boming for a year now, huge waves of speculative investment in weed stocks and tech stocks. Now crypto currencies are going thru huge bullrun, it will all end sooner or later and then we will be in depressive bear market with seemingly no end in sight. I dont know how you are correlating financial classes with these bull runs since everyone can invest.

I have observed the Korean market and noticed that the crypto projects from this country have failed like BOSCOIN, ICON and many others. They only develop for a while and abandon the project, most of them do.
Their market was heavily exaggerated in 2017 and they went silent afterward.
Income tax on cryptocurrencies in this country is also too high.
I prefer the US and European markets because they have a slow and serious development with their projects. They tend to hold for longer than pump up and discharge like the Korean market. Look at Korean exchanges like Bithumb, Upbit ... the cryptocurrencies listed above these exchanges are pumped up to hundreds of percent.
Coinbase, Gemini, Coinlist, Kraken or Bifinex look very stable and clean.

it is a common feeling that everyone has during bitcoin bull runs because the number of short term speculators and gamblers are increasing but what people usually forget is that the number of bitcoin users and long term believers is also increasing, in fact most of the times it is increasing more than the number of speculators. and many of the speculators also turn into bitcoin users after some time when they see the benefit in it.

When and why did anybody hope bitcoin would make this gap smaller?
Bitcoin is money! How could money alone bridge this gap unless you force rich people to not buy bitcoin and give coins away only to the poor at which point you will realize the price will not get up since you've banned people with money to buy it!

Frustrating? Then learn to deal with it because bitcoin will only amplify this in the future, the ones that have money to buy now will be richer the ones that don't will keep being poor. If a bunch of code could have solved poverty we would have got ridden of it already, but it can't.


I'm really curious was this wasted chance was and how you picture it working.

You should have been around when the Asian exchanges faked trading volumes to attract traders to their platform. The Asian government had to close down some of these exchanges to stop this practice. I will not be too surprised if they are doing this again and if we will see a repeat of what happened in the past.

Also, remember... Crypto currencies are a high risk investment. Every balanced portfolio will have a small expose to high risk investments and it will only become scary when institutional investors start going "all in" on high risk investments like this. (Luckily these financial institutions are highly regulated and something like this will quickly be exposed.)  ;)

not judging, it's just that on average the poor will immediately sell the Bitcoin they get for their life.  a gap is created when 2 people ^{(we say the poor and the rich)} have different mindsets.  Bitcoin is not created only for the rich but the rich will sell their Bitcoin when they make a profit, while the poor will sell their Bitcoin for life.  just ask yourself whether what I'm saying is wrong or right!

You should not be afraid, today's world will always seek to have more influence on what they have with fiat value, it is impossible to stop the movement of Bitcoin and market capitalization, I know that many are Bitcoin and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, they may look for the technology and development but speculative value is what most see, in how to earn more.

But it is not bad, because this causes bitcoin to be adopted more and more, you may not see for now the history that bitcoin carries and the development it represents, which means the elimination of a debt and inflation system, by having a Significant value based on fiat money makes gold investors, stock market, among others enter, there is nothing wrong there.

Hasn't it always been this way? I mean at least in the rest of the world it has always been more speculative. No one expects his investments to give such big returns. if people would have been doing investments in Bitcoin. It would have a maximum price of $1000 and nothing more than that trust me. I don't know why people had some lame expectations from crypto to narrow the gap between rich and poor. How is that even possible? Even if it's crypto the human tendency doesn't change. It remains the same always no matter what. If we are actually looking towards Bitcoin as a Value? why don't you tell me what is the value? is the technology which is barely used as a currency now worth $60k per coin? It's the mix of speculation and investor emotion that has brought it this high.

What is unique about Korea? The whole world is going crazy for cryptocurrency right now. I think a large part of the inflow is coming from the billions and trillions that the US government is printing (along with many other governments). It's almost unheard of for the government to be handing out checks with free money, but I think it has happened a couple times in the last year due to Covid. Bust does tend to follow boom however, but you can never tell when the bubble will burst. We might be near the start or near the end. It seems crazy that most of the world has been able to recover higher stock market levels, after a quick and deep recession, while many countries are still locked down. Basically, you shouldn't worry about what others are doing - many people are reckless and many people get lucky - just worry about sticking to your own financial plan for the future.

This have been mentioned in the past (2018) and recently since South Korea has more volume in their crypto exchanges now than their own stock market (https://cointelegraph.com/news/reported-volume-of-top-south-korean-crypto-exchanges-surpasses-that-of-the-country-s-stock-market). For me even if you are worried there is really nothing left to do as it is always the decision of the buyer on which kind of asset they want to invest in, South Koreans have proven that they have a higher risk appetite as compared to other people and if they want to invest their capital to a faster moving asset then they should be accepting the risk as well. Any market really has its risks and if the crypto industry will affect their country's economy I believe that the government will step up with regulations just to somehow control the market.

I guess by speculative you mean they buy and sell based on what they think the price will be worth in the future?
I think that kind of trading would be ok if people are buying to support a useful project and hope their investments become fruitful for everyone in the future as the project becomes valuable.  So, I hope they invest in very useful and safe crypto projects.
People who are skilled in trading could buy whenever there are major dips, and sell some if they need money for other important things. If traders buy in this manner, price will be kind of self-regulating and volatility will be somewhat moderate. And it's important that people trade with amount they can afford to risk.

There is no difference between Korea(South) to the other nations that are also into crypto. The market has always been speculative and you cannot change that fact.

Even if you are frustrated with what's happening, the gap cannot be changed until most people start being conservative in investments. But there were also bad news that happened there, like closing of Korean exchanges.

SK saw the opportunity, they took it. Nothing too bad happens really, as the things that you stated you are afraid of about crypto investment in South Korea exists in every othrt country in this planet, so I do not concern myself too much about that. Also, these people are savvy when it comes to investments, becoming one of the big countries when it comes to real estate and stock trading and investment, so what we may consider speculative is nothing short of normal to them.

Well it was to be expected, if anything bitcoin gave a 10 year head start to anyone that wanted to buy, and it was not until those 10 years passed in which the truly rich began to invest in it, so anyone that did not invested during that time have only themselves to blame.

But now that the ultra rich are discovering in this market a good investment for the short and long term then it is obvious the price is going to keep going up and the middle class will not be able to afford a full bitcoin anymore, so while it makes sense that you are concerned there is nothing you can do about it.

Lets face up the reality because rich would always have the advantage once they do decide to deal up with things specially when theres money or profit involved no matter what kind of market it is.
When it comes to craze and hypes then this wont really limit out on certain country but also in other countries as well where it is already going to the point that it isnt already convincing at all
or rather simply a pure hype.If you do get stressed up with these things then better not to look into the market or wont really be making any step forward.Try to wait up for the right
time because once you do get caught in the middle then you would really be having a hard time on dealing with things later on.

Can the OP be more specific about his worries? Because from my impression, he is worried about crypto investments as becoming more of a speculative market, and that actually what crypto is. Not only in Korea but all parts of the world where crypto has presence. He should not worry too much because that's the nature of crypto, and that's why people are attracted to this kind of market. They can easily gain money at short period of time but they can also lost a lot in a snap.

100% agree with this sentiment.

Not just in Korea, but pretty much everywhere else as well.

The NFT craze is simply unsustainable. Altcoin valuations are through the roof. And even the most fundamental (and sane) asset in the cryptosphere, BTC, is arguably entering frothy territory.

There will be a time when this speculative bubble comes crashing down, although it is not entirely certain when that will be. It could well be years given the current sentiment.

If you know what to do more than just whine about how it is going crazy, then you might be able to profit from the frenzy that is happening, yes people are saying that NFT is a bubble but we don't know when it is going to pop and with that knowledge we can be able to make money while it is still growing and not yet popping up.

I don't quite get it. Rich and poor theory never works because let's be honest, Bitcoin was not made to make the poor richer or vice versa, it was simply designed to bring freedom into the markets and remove trust from the trades. And as far as speculation goes, everyone invests into bitcoins because they have some expectations from the investment obviously.

I mean if you are looking at the value of Bitcoin through sheer use of "real-life use" then actually it is not as much and frankly, I would still prefer my credit card over Bitcoins when shopping or making any transfers because it is cheaper and way faster. Bitcoin's value comes from speculation of the demand and supply in the market.

I think Korea is no different than others because anyone who invests in bitcoins will look to cash at some point and will speculate.

So, this has nothing to do with the gap between poor and rich, it has nothing to do with decentralization, being your own bank, freedom, you explained it quite clearly although you probably did this unwillingly.
Make money before the bubble pops!
In one single line, you managed to align NFT with ponzi schemes and brought to the surface what everyone knew about those, practical use zero, 100% way of making a quick buck out of nothing.


I doubt it will take years for it to come down, in the past collectibles like these have made it through a long period because there was a manufacturing process, there were limited things to produce, communication channels were not that effective, right now it's a different game.
Every single useless thing can become a NFT, transactions are instant, collectors can follow trends in minutes, this of the tulip many but in a digital form where bulbs take seconds to create. It will a ot faster than the beanie babies craze.

I like how you are always open to opinions TP. I need to add that for all the hate that is reserved for "shitcoins", the only thing related to Bitcoin that has actually made the "poor" better off in the last few years is this forum. That again is not because the forum introduces people to bitcoin but because it introduces them to crazy alt-coins and blockchain games where you can farm crypto.
 
With the airdrop season on Ethereum and other chains, people who have been engaged have gotten fair rewards compared to those who just stuck to bitcoin. Those who ventured past gained better understanding and are earning better. The maximalist position of denial has really been shitty for those who believe in it.

I don't understand what you mean by the Korean market is too dangerous because cryptocurrency is already known for been volatile and the market price is determined by the level of demand and supply but if you feel there's something strange about the exchange you're using you could change to Binance.

Well there is a big difference unfortunately OP have failed to bring some data to back up his comment on why it is getting "dangerous" in South Korea now. Like what I have said on my first post South Korea as of right now has a bigger volume on their crypto exchanges rather than their own stock market which means that a lot of their citizens' savings and capital are in a riskier market. Just imagine a whole nation will have their whole economy fall sharply when majority of their traders got victimized by a correction or a bearish reversal maybe some of them won't recover as their entire life savings is inside the crypto market. This is why the OP is worried about the crypto craze happening in their country.

Koreans might be betting high in crypto currencies success, but that is actually the tendency the world is going to follow from now on. Does anyone still doubt crypto, lead by bitcoin, is the future of financial system? On short run everything can happen, these investments can lose value for a while of course, but on long run they will most probably recover and hit new ATHs.
If people are putting so much money in crypto market it's because they see potential and benefits on it. South Korea is a technological pole, they must know what they are doing.

Crypto has always been very volatile not just in Korea, but all over the world. The newest trend in the world is probably NFTs, and if this is what you meant, Korea has one also called Piction (https://piction.network/).

Speculation in crypto-currency is widely one sided in favour of alt-coins, although the are speculation in Bitcoin price, but the speculation that a so called alt-coin will be the next bitcoin is occurring fervently, and the long list of De-Fies, I think what a crypto-currency user in Korea should do is stay up to date on real news and when investing they see speculation as a buy-over schemes or slander if speculation is to tarnish the reputation of any one or coin.

The crypto craze is not particular to Korea alone. It happens everywhere. The rich always have money to invest in things like this which makes them to benefit the most. This is not just about bitcoin. Take a look at gold and oil. The rich have more investing capital and so made the most benefit of it.
I think the only reason the crypto craze is so evident in Korea is because there are quite a lot of people who have the capital to invest in bitcoin. This is not to say that there are no poor people there.

I do believe that  there is nothing anybody can do to the fact that they see bitcoin as a speculative asset and not ass a currency.

I think Korea is different as far as I know they are using USD over their own currency. That's what I heard according to my sister who works with Korean students. It could be that the people there are hedging their USD to BTC and other altcoins.

But its true that almost everyone today already knew crypto, the apps they are using now are connected to BTC. Media had made it very popular so its not just in Korea.

The fact that poor could still end up winning something from crypto matters, look at so many altcoins that have gone up a lot in the recent months, chilliz, holo and many other stuff, if you are lucky you could make a great profit from altcoins. Bitcoin is good as well you could make a decent profit from that, not as much as you used to but you could still double your money here.

This is why I think it is quite important that we end up realizing what we are looking for in crypto. I believe it is quite obvious that we do not end up with something unrealistic, if you are looking to turn 1 into 500 that is not going to happen but if you are looking to turn 1 into 3 that could be possible. This is the reason which pushes me to think that we should be focusing on that instead of trying to achieve something that will not come at all. Of course you could shoot for the skies if you want to but you are not going to get it unless you are super lucky.

This hype has sparked a very common perspective among cryptoners who are just starting out in the world of crypto. We are very concerned that they have to compete with large institutional owners in the country while bitcoin prices are soaring and continue to target six digits this year. it is inevitable that we will see a bubble that will only get bigger in the coming year. bitcoin is not favoritism, anyone who is able to survive in the long term, be prepared to enjoy the benefits at a later date.

Price of bitcoin on their local exchanges is getting more expensive which is actually bad for the rich people there since people can register on those exchange can make profits from those price difference. Crypto market has no borders so everyone who is having money can invest and reap their profits.

Btc and most crypto are global hemce local and regional markets can not make big price difference.
Every where in the world, crypto market is mostly highly speculative but you can avoid this by buying btc and holding it for at least few years.
If majority of us stop selling whenever we are in profit, we can get rid of this speculative nature of crypto.

Ah so that's what happened. Kinda confuses me when i first read what op stated. Like, isn't that what happened in a lot other places as well? Why is it that dangerous? because korea is just joining the trend? i don't think so.
But well, it might be worrying if people really prefer crypto instead of their stock market, especially because cryptocurrency is really volatile and risky, if a very huge amount of money is stored in cryptocurrency, and in worst case, it collapsed, then of course a huge uproar might happened there, the economy will really at the worst.

however, the amount of money invested will be the benchmark for all the benefits that will later be obtained. so in investing in crypto, when we understand all the flow of price movements, then the nominal money that is ready to spend to invest has become a benchmark that will later count the amount of profits that will be obtained.

I think the general idea of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is first and foremost freedom, independence from the established system, not to make the poor rich. It is no wonder that the gap is growing, everyone who knows how business works should've seen this coming.
On the other hand, you have to admit that it is much easier to invest in crypto than capital project investments, so, in a way, cryptocurrencies open doors for lower-class individuals to participate in at least some sort of investment. But naturally, the rich have more opportunities in all senses, so they can buy more coins and various types of crypto, increasing the chances of gaining profit significantly, and I guess it will continue on like that.

The richer will always get richer, it's the people financial management that determines what they can save after their expenses. Some good number of persons lack financial intelligence and they never seek to take a course on that. The crypto massive interest is not limited to the Koreans it's a worldwide human psychological trend.

They wouldnt really be just making out those kind of decisions if they arent able to picture out on what are the probabilities of things that could possibly happen if they do able to do so.
Switching up fully to crypto is really that risky compared on dealing with their stocks.They are just been hyped too much with the craze? Everything should really be in controlled
because not all things that do looks good would really be already good on others as well. Always take out those second thoughts and think up carefully
on the possible actions that could be made.

We know that markets have the tendency to move on two emotions and those two emotions are fear and greed, once the growth of bitcoin stopped and failed to cross 60 dollars definitely the people instead of just accepting it decided to take a look at other coins and other forms of investment to see if they can keep making money and to their surprise they found out that they can in fact make even more money with those other coins because it is way easier to move them compared to bitcoin.

The problem comes with the fact that there is nothing behind many of those projects and once the bubble pops then the price of bitcoin will go down significantly but the price of those other coins is going to crash so hard that it is going to be impossible for anyone holding the bag to ever recover.