A record-breaking crypto rally born in the US is leaving its mark on Asia, including a jump in the value of Bitcoin held by Bhutan to more than US$1 billion and a surge in digital-asset trading volumes in South Korea.
The crypto market by some estimates has climbed over US$800 billion since Donald Trump’s victory in the US election on Nov 5, on hopes that his pledge to turn the US into the global hub for the sector will spur a digital-asset boom.
Asia is being impacted by the burst of optimism as a clutch of jurisdictions in the region are at the forefront of crypto adoption, whether for investment, hedging local currency weakness or cheaper and faster remittances.
In Bhutan, state investment arm Druk Holding & Investments has accumulated Bitcoin as a reward for running computer networks that help to underpin the token’s digital ledger. These so-called Bitcoin mining operations are powered by the mountainous Himalayan kingdom’s abundant hydroelectricity.
Diversification Strategy
The value of Bhutan’s Bitcoin hoard has risen over US$200 million to US$1.1 billion since the US vote, according to researcher Arkham Intelligence. That’s equivalent to about 36% of the country’s gross domestic product. Druk Holding & Investments began mining Bitcoin in 2019, CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal said, but is unable to confirm the value of the holdings as they are material to its “core internal asset management and diversification strategy.”
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A chart showing the price of Bitcoin at the Upbit customer lounge in Seoul.
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In South Korea, speculators tend to embrace smaller, riskier tokens rather than market-leader Bitcoin alone. The nation’s largest dedicated exchange is Upbit, whose share of worldwide crypto trading jumped two percentage points to 4.3% from Nov 5 to Nov 10, according to CCData. That suggests the Trump-fueled rally tempted more South Koreans into the market.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific, Singapore and Hong Kong are among the jurisdictions trying to foster digital-asset hubs. There are also many signs of gray-market demand for digital assets in China despite Beijing’s crypto ban.
“Asian exchanges are going to see a big benefit from Trump and his pro-crypto policies,” said David Rogers, regional chief executive at market maker B2C2.
Bitcoin All-Time High
Bitcoin spiked above US$94,000 to a record Tuesday before trading near US$92,000 in Asia on Wednesday, as investors assessed how quickly Trump can make good on his promise of a friendly US regulatory backdrop. He has also pledged to establish a strategic US Bitcoin reserve, which some view as an uphill task.
Roger Li, co-founder of One Satoshi, a chain of stores in Hong Kong offering over-the-counter conversions between cash and crypto, said his volumes picked up two weeks before the US election and continued to expand afterward.
“Because of the growth we are seeing, and because we believe the rally will continue, we’re expanding our business,” Li said. “We want to have bigger shops to tend to more customers.”
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Rallying Tokens, Shares
Other ripples from the US-led rally include a post-election doubling in the price of Cronos, the utility token of Singapore-headquartered Crypto.com, one of the biggest digital-asset trading venues. The city-state is also home to education software firm Genius Group Ltd., whose US-listed shares briefly surged 138% after the company pivoted to a Bitcoin-first approach for its reserves.
In Japan, Metaplanet Inc is up roughly 60% this month on optimism about its strategy of accumulating Bitcoin from debt and equity financing. Last week, Tokyo-based Monex Group Inc announced its crypto exchange operator Coincheck Group plans to finally list in the US in December via a long-pending merger with a special purpose acquisition company.
Digital assets suffered a wipeout in 2022 that uncovered sharp practices and fraud, leading to the collapse of platforms such as Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange. But for now memories of such risks are being overshadowed by bouts of euphoria over Trump’s support for crypto.
“If this bull market plays out like 2021, we could see some significant volumes flow to altcoins while Bitcoin’s price slows,” said BTC Markets Pty CEO Caroline Bowler, using a catch-all term for smaller tokens.
