Institutional Bitcoin Investment Expands, Injecting New Vitality into the Market

Baek Hun-jong, CEO of SmashFi, recently attended the Bitcoin Asia 2026 conference held in Hong Kong, following a previous conference in the US. He stated, “I talked about my trip to the US last time, and this time I went to Hong Kong, which is closer. It was the Asian version of the Bitcoin conference. I attended Bitcoin Asia 2026.”

Starting with Hong Kong, this event plans to expand conferences to major Asian cities, including Tokyo, Japan, in 2028. This move signifies the Asian expansion of the global Bitcoin conference ecosystem, which is established worldwide in places like the Netherlands, Prague, Lugano, Switzerland, and El Salvador.

CEO Baek Hun-jong discussed the unique characteristics of the domestic Bitcoin market. He explained, “In Korea, Bitcoin conferences are not well known. You've mostly heard of Korea Blockchain Week, right? And various Ethereum-related conferences and meetups are more mainstream in Korea.”

In Korea, KBW (Korea Blockchain Week) and Ethereum-related events are dominant, and Bitcoin is relatively marginalized due to the high difficulty of its development and limitations in its use as a financial product.

Recently, at Bitcoin conferences, the strong trend of corporations like MicroStrategy and MetaPlanet buying Bitcoin has taken center stage in leading the market. CEO Baek Hun-jong stated, “The recent atmosphere at Bitcoin conferences strongly features a trend led by treasury corporations like MicroStrategy and MetaPlanet, dominating Bitcoin trends.”

Alongside this phenomenon, innovative financial products like Strive Asset Management (ASST) are emerging, and forecasts suggest that the Bitcoin bull market will continue, driven by corporate 'cherry-picking' and buying momentum.

In the Bitcoin market, there's an active discussion about the validity of the four-year cycle theory. CEO Baek Hun-jong mentioned, “When will the bull market begin? Although the main agenda was whether the bear market has ended, everyone is ultimately asking: will the Bitcoin price follow the four-year cycle, or will the four-year cycle be broken?”

The impact of industrialized institutional buying and sustained interest from individual investors on Bitcoin's price is gaining attention. Concurrently, there is a possibility that Bitcoin's volatility could increase again, as it has in the past.

These discussions indicate that Bitcoin is perceived not just as an asset but as an indicator reflecting broader changes in the investment environment.

With concerns over the overvaluation of AI stocks and a downturn in semiconductor stocks like SK Hynix, investors' attention is returning to Bitcoin. CEO Baek Hun-jong explained, “But now, as AI investments are said to be highly overvalued, and SK Hynix and other high-point stocks are falling, interest in Bitcoin is returning.”

Bitcoin is being re-evaluated as an alternative investment, showing a tendency to be recognized as a new asset haven amid market instability.

Bitcoin investment experts emphasize a consistent dollar-cost averaging approach rather than short-term market predictions. CEO Baek Hun-jong stated, “What he says consistently is: buy anytime. Invest with dollar-cost averaging. These are the two things he emphasizes, so the date doesn't matter at all.”

This highlights the difference between the long-term investment strategies common in overseas investment culture and those among Korean investors.

Bitcoin has recorded a high average annual growth rate of 50% over the past 10 years. CEO Baek Hun-jong applied the Rule of 72 to explain Bitcoin's wealth accumulation potential, stating, “If Bitcoin has risen by an average of 50% annually over the past 10 years, then 72 divided by 50 means it takes about 1.4 years for the principal to double.”

According to the Rule of 72, assuming an average annual return of 50%, the time it takes for the principal to double is calculated to be approximately 1.4 years. This suggests that Bitcoin can lead to significant wealth accumulation in a relatively short period.

CEO Baek Hun-jong used George Orwell's novel '1984' to deliver a warning about Korea's high-risk investment environment. He stated, “I think those things made all those people fall into it. Koreans should no longer be deceived,” pointing out the phenomenon of the public being exposed to high-risk markets.

He emphasized the need to be wary of the potential for public control through the opening of gambling markets and the tendency for leveraged ETFs and the coin market to become gambling-like.

This reveals a critical view of the roles of government and financial markets, underscoring the necessity for investors to make wise judgments.

Bitcoin's price exhibits extreme sensitivity to changes in liquidity. CEO Baek Hun-jong explained, “Bitcoin's price responds most honestly to liquidity because, frankly, the market is small. It's too small, so if there's any sign of increased liquidity, the price inevitably rises first.”

This means that due to the relatively small size of the Bitcoin market, even minor changes in liquidity can cause significant price fluctuations.

Therefore, liquidity indicators play a crucial role in predicting Bitcoin's price movements.