Chapter 67

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Bitcoin.

The first cryptocurrency created in 2009 by a developer under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

A completely digital currency with no physical form, designed to operate without control by any central institution, bank, or government.

The core technology that can be called Bitcoin’s essence is exactly blockchain.

All transaction records are distributed and stored across a worldwide computer network, making forgery or hacking extremely difficult.

“Bitcoin is a new currency in the digital world, a system managed by mathematical algorithms and a global computer network. In other words, money without substance.”

“Wow. But how is this being traded at $400? Something without substance having value.”

“I know right. Giving value to something without substance..”

“It’s like gold. Gold also, honestly we don’t know why it has value, but because people give it meaning and value, it has its current price.”

Bitcoin can be called the gold of the digital age.

It can be instantly transferred anywhere in the world, cannot be counterfeited, and with the total supply limited to 21 million, there’s no worry about inflation.

“That explanation probably came out to deceive people on the internet. No matter how I look at it, it seems like a scam. Why on earth would anyone pay $400 for this?”

“Plus things similar to Bitcoin are gradually increasing. And they’re buying and selling this with real money. They’re insane.”

Currently Bitcoin’s price is $400.

Honestly even to me it was a price hard to understand well.

For a data fragment without even substance, even though they say hacking is absolutely impossible, that might be a scam, yet it burns $400..

It was a system difficult to understand rationally.

‘But why is my intuition reacting to this?’

Plus reacting like this is a first, so I couldn’t even know what it meant.

At first, black stems extended from a specific currency reaching Bitcoin, then various colors mixed together seeming to express chaos itself.

“…”

In case I missed something, I looked up materials about Bitcoin.

Is it telling me to buy this?

But there was no reaction about purchasing Bitcoin.

Then what exactly does it want me to do with this, showing me such phenomena?

“Overseas there’s quite some Bitcoin trading volume. But looking at the scale, it’s not that big either. Plus recently one fairly sizeable exchange got hacked and all the coins there were completely stolen.”

Right then.

The feeling that wasn’t sticking suddenly hit my entire body hard enough to make me jerk.

“Manager. Did you just say it got hacked?”

“Ah, yes. Not a tremendous scale, but there was an exchange in the TOP3, and that place had all customers’ coins stolen from hacking damage. Plus other exchanges also keep hearing about hacking damage frequently.”

Is it reacting to hacking?

No.

What’s grabbing my collar and shaking me right now wasn’t hacking but something else.

‘..Exchange?’

There my body trembled intensely once more.

“Does our country have a Bitcoin exchange?”

“Ah, yes. Won markets exist in a few places. But the scale is very small, and the number of coins actually tradable is also very few, so domestic Bitcoin buyers hardly use won exchanges.”

Looking at the materials, even the exchanges that existed are currently closing doors.

Trading volume was also low, and the number of coins being markedly fewer than foreign currency markets was also a big disadvantage.

‘Is it telling me to acquire these exchanges?’

I placed my hand on each exchange name on the list.

No feeling comes.

“Several places already closed, and three places barely hanging on, but these are also precarious. Both overseas and in our country, there’s strong rejection thinking it’s probably a scam. Above all, in foreign currency markets you can buy hundreds of types of coins, but in our country you can only buy 4-5.”

I figured out that intuition reacts to exchanges, but it wasn’t reacting to acquiring exchanges.

Even listening to employees’ stories and looking up materials, it only reacts to the word exchange.

After that, no particular feeling came.

Plus acquiring exchanges now wouldn’t immediately make money.

What exactly am I supposed to do?

Are you telling me to newly create an exchange or what?

“..?!”

But there came a reaction.

I wrote “establish exchange” in my notebook.

Then the hand holding the pen was reacting as if cramping.

‘You really want me to create an exchange?’

***

Gwangwoon Group’s chairman, Hwang Dae-woon.

He didn’t know the chairman position was this busy.

Every dawn calls come from overseas, matters to handle pile up like mountains, and there’s no time to rest at all.

Honestly he could’ve just dumped all this work on the vice chairman and fooled around.

But this Gwangwoon Group and this chairman position aren’t things Hwang Dae-woon obtained through his effort.

Jeong Jin-ho created it all.

So even becoming chairman, he had no thought whatsoever about acting arrogant and only playing.

He tried to move even a little more to help this company.

Only then could he package it prettily and give it to Jin-ho later.

“..But what’s this?”

Hwang Dae-woon tilted his head at today’s agenda item.

“Bitcoin exchange? What’s all this about?”

“It’s an agenda President Jeong Jin-ho submitted. He wants to create a new subsidiary and open a fintech exchange.”

“Right. But Bitcoin exchange? Is this popular these days?”

“In our country and looking worldwide, Bitcoin trading volume isn’t that much. It received attention briefly, but everyone is turning away saying the system doesn’t make sense.”

First he was surprised that people put money into such a system, and surprised once more that Bitcoin’s current price is $400.

But taking it further, Jeong Jin-ho is now trying to establish a Bitcoin won trading market.

“Why is Jin-ho suddenly trying to establish an exchange handling this? Even forming partnerships with overseas Bitcoin exchanges?”

The executives also couldn’t know.

Actually most of them only learned about Bitcoin for the first time this time.

Paying $400 for virtual currency.

Isn’t it something that doesn’t make sense?

“Hmm. The market is wide open now, can’t tell busy people to come and go.”

Jeong Jin-ho is also one of Gwangwoon Group’s executives.

But he rarely attends executive meetings.

So he can focus maximally only on investment, they handle bothersome matters for him.

“There are a few places in Korea where you can trade Bitcoin, but the coin types are markedly low. So President Jeong Jin-ho seems to want to form partnerships with overseas Bitcoin exchanges to open routes enabling trading of hundreds of coins.”

Opening an exchange ultimately means eating commission fees.

But right now domestically Bitcoin trading volume is hitting rock bottom, and overseas wasn’t much different either.

“Moreover what needs attention is the investment amount. Initial investment alone exceeds 100 billion won. Actually if only opening servers domestically, it’s possible within 10-20 billion won, but President Jeong is planning to place servers not only domestically but also overseas.”

Bringing in hundreds of coins through overseas exchange partnerships and putting them on the exchange.

That was exactly the clear difference from existing domestic exchanges.

After building the system while receiving technical support from overseas, his will was to actively open exchanges not only domestically but throughout overseas by placing servers domestically and overseas and continuously hiring development personnel.

“What does everyone think?”

“It’s a somewhat puzzling decision. If it seems Bitcoin will rise, he could just buy it.”

“Plus right now the price alone is $400, isn’t it? It’s full of bubbles. Plus trading volume also started hitting rock bottom. At this point wouldn’t an exchange be risky?”

Hwang Dae-woon was thinking the same.

If someone with normal thinking looks at the current flow, anyone would have the same thought.

“But seeing how he’s even creating an affiliate to make an exchange..”

Jeong Jin-ho has never made such a proposal.

Plus would Jeong Jin-ho not know what executives here all know?

Yet seeing him say he’ll open an exchange, there clearly seemed to be something.

“And it’s 100 billion won, right? President Jeong Jin-ho earns trillions of won, would he spare a mere 100 billion?”

Executives here know as much as they should know.

That Jeong Jin-ho played the decisive role in creating this Gwangwoon now.

Also that what’s still growing this Gwangwoon is also Jeong Jin-ho.

What they should do is already decided.

Ensuring Jeong Jin-ho doesn’t receive interference internally or externally in making investments.

“Approve it immediately. If President Jeong Jin-ho needs anything, actively support him.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Today too the chairman and executives faithfully carried out their assigned mission.

***

4:30 PM.

Chairman Kang Seong-ho and executives gathered in the conference room staring silently only at the screen without saying anything.

Their hands were full of cold sweat, and their mouths dried up.

Until right before the election, most polling organizations predicted Hilia’s victory.

Especially in major battleground states called Wisconsin and Michigan, polls also showed Hillary’s advantage.

Honestly speaking, throughout the election period all media attacked Trent.

As numerous conspiracy theories and political controversies overlapped, everyone predicted Hilia’s victory.

But no matter how much the media made a fuss, American citizens’ thoughts seemed different.

[Candidate Hilia’s vote percentage is 48.2%. Candidate Trent’s vote percentage is 46.1%. A whopping 3 million vote difference.]

The polls fit well.

Hilia was ahead by a whopping 3 million votes in vote percentage.

But in America, having many votes doesn’t mean you’re unconditionally chosen.

Because they have an electoral system different from Korea, the president is decided depending on who the electoral college chooses.

[But since 304 people in the electoral college chose candidate Trent and 227 people chose candidate Hilia, this election’s winner became candidate Trent!]

“!?”

Results came out breaking everyone’s expectations.

Trent became America’s new president.

“Well now. Whether to be happy about this or not.”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho shouted nice with executives while clenching his fists, yet on the other hand felt absurd.

That America would really choose Trent.

Isn’t he a president with all those controversies and shocking ideas?

He’s a figure who didn’t hesitate to blurt out statements about building a wall in Mexico, hitting with tariff bombs, and even waging nuclear war with North Korea.

“Congratulations, Chairman.”

“Other things aside, this bet really seemed big. No matter how President Trent doesn’t know where he’ll jump, he won’t forget that Kangsung believed and supported him until the end.”

“As expected, Chairman’s insight shines again this time. Haha.”

At the executives’ words, Kang Seong-ho smiled then rubbed his chest.

Actually he doubted a little Jeong Jin-ho’s words that Trent would win the election.

All public opinion was pointing to Hilia, and actually the vote percentage was also won by Hilia.

But as Jeong Jin-ho said, Trent won.

And Trent will mercilessly hit with tariff bombs as promised beforehand, then hesitate at the name Kangsung.

Originally people tend to long remember those who extend a hand when most difficult.

When no one supported Trent, didn’t only Kangsung generously send sponsorship money?

Going forward, to keep the overwhelming number one semiconductor company, America’s stance was most important, and for at least 4 years it seemed they could grow the company without big checks.

“This isn’t the time.”

Probably right now Jeong Jin-ho is also watching the election results.

He should at least convey thanks.

These days both are busy so they couldn’t even contact well.

He heard Jeong Jin-ho recently became president of a new affiliate.

The company name was KW Bit.

“I heard only flies are buzzing there right now.”

Should he call and at least console him?

***

“…”

Because President Trent was elected, the whole world is bustling right now.

But Gwangwoon Group was concentrating more on other news than President Trent.

“Is he really insane? Even if he’s prime minister, making bills into paper scraps overnight?”

Indian Prime Minister Nared Mondi through a sudden emergency announcement revealed he’d reform 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee bills.

In other words, he’ll invalidate those two currencies, which was a major shock turning 86% of total currency in circulation into paper scraps.

The problem is starting with India, to Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Mexico.

Various countries started smashing currency value as if they promised.

“They’re going to collapse the underground economy. Especially isn’t India’s rupee famous for black money?”

Eradicating black money was India’s will.

Actually aren’t rupees being used a lot for various slush funds and criminal acts like illegal transactions? It was said that for black money they use rupees more than dollars.

“But isn’t this too much? Not 50% but 86%.”

Such measures were unprecedented.

Thanks to this, all Indian citizens were lining up at banks trying to exchange currency.

Plus along with India, as other countries also started touching currency, the currency market was turning upside down right now.

“But Chairman. Somehow this seems like it’ll be profit for us.”

“Why?”

“With this currency reform, slush funds throughout the world are moving now. Seeing even currency getting messed up by the government, they must have thought they can’t stay like this.”

“So?”

“Safe assets like gold can somehow be reached by government hands and traced, right? But there’s exactly one place that doesn’t.”

Is there such a thing in the world?

“Exactly Bitcoin.”

“What?”

“Already trading volume domestically and internationally is increasing hundreds of times. What went down to $200 is now exceeding $500.”

The sudden currency reform moved black money scattered throughout the world.

Exactly to the Bitcoin market.

“After our KW exchange opened, there were almost no new members, right? But right now new members are flooding in to the degree the server is exploding. In our country, this is the only place handling various coins.”

Ordinary people with no relation to black money whatsoever saw the soaring coin prices and started entering the market one after another.

Plus here the exchange operates 24 hours.

There’s no limit line on rising prices either.

“No way. R-really they pay money to buy such data fragments?”

“It’s no longer a data fragment, Chairman. If this goes well.. It might exceed $1,000.”

Chairman Hwang helplessly let out a sigh.

Virtual currency more precious than gold.

The world was turning strangely.