Bitcoin's Rise Briefly Lifts Trading Value as Well... Expert: "The Downturn Is Not Over Yet" [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] As Bitcoin has recently gained strength, investor sentiment toward virtual assets in South Korea has also begun to recover. Experts view the current situation as a stage in which adverse factors are being cleared and say that sustained capital inflows will be key to a return to a bull market.
According to CoinMarketCap, a global virtual asset information platform, Bitcoin was trading at around $86,000 as of 1 p.m. on the 23rd, up 1.16% from the previous day based on a 24-hour period. This marked the first time Bitcoin had traded above $86,000 in eight months, since late January.
Bitcoin reached an all-time intraday high of $126,186 on October 6 last year, then continued to decline, falling 54.17% to $57,832 during intraday trading on July 1 this year. After moving sideways around the $60,000 level, it began to rebound late last month and has risen by approximately 50% compared with its yearly low on July 1.
The domestic market is also regaining momentum. According to CoinGecko, the combined average daily trading value of the five major KRW markets—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Digital X and GOPAX—was $1.93534 billion from the beginning of this month through the 23rd. That was approximately 2.5 times the $583.12 million recorded in June, the lowest monthly figure of the year. Average daily trading value has risen from its June low to $893.17 million in July and $1.43798 billion in August.
The easing of inflation concerns is cited as one reason for the recovery in virtual asset investor sentiment. Analysts say that risk appetite has expanded because the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 5% even after the Federal Reserve System (Fed) raised its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points on the 16th, while international oil prices also declined after reaching a high.
Although the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act of 2025), a virtual asset regulatory bill, was rejected by the Senate, the U.S. financial authorities' active efforts to establish virtual asset regulations were also viewed positively by the market. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced an "innovation exemption" related to trading tokenized stocks, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has asked the White House to review rules concerning virtual assets.
Sungwook Hong, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "The market viewed positively the U.S. financial authorities' determination to fill the regulatory void left by the CLARITY Act of 2025. There had been concerns that policy momentum could slow if the CLARITY Act of 2025 failed to pass, but those concerns have recently been offset."
Experts broadly agree, however, that it is still too early to view the situation as the end of the downturn. They say the market is currently in a stage of clearing adverse factors and that capital inflows must continue at the current pace. Although trading value has been recovering, it remains far below the $3.9 billion to $2.3 billion levels seen from October last year through February this year, when Bitcoin traded around $120,000 to $80,000.
Min-seung Kim, head of the research center at Digital X (formerly Korbit), noted, "Nearly $1 billion flowed into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on the 21st, but total net inflows during the preceding week amounted to only $6 million. We need to see whether large-scale inflows continue for more than two to three weeks."
Some analysts also say investors should watch the policies expected to be announced from the end of this year through early next year. Hong said, "The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is scheduled to launch a tokenization platform service in October, and the GENIUS Act, the U.S. bill regulating stablecoins, is scheduled to take effect in January next year. We need to monitor global policy developments related to virtual assets beginning in the fourth quarter of this year."

[email protected] Im Sang-hyeok Reporter