Tensions between North Korea and the United States heightened over the weekend, correlating with a rise in the bitcoin price.
U.S.-North Korean Tensions Heighten
The prolonged conflict between the United States and North Korea has reached unprecedented levels in recent months, as the leaders of both nations have traded insults and North Korea has continued to demonstrate its nuclear capabilities.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has attempted to calm anxieties, revealing last week that the administration has direct channels of communication set up with North Korean leaders in Pyongyang. He stressed that his primary objective is to find a “peaceful resolution.”
However, President Trump upped the ante on Sunday, tweeting that Secretary Tillerson is “wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” as he often refers to North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Casting shade on previous presidents — each of whom Trump says did not adequately address the threat of North Korea’s nuclear program — Trump vowed that he “won’t fail”:
"Being nice to Rocket Man hasn't worked in 25 years, why would it work now? Clinton failed, Bush failed, and Obama failed. I won't fail."
“Save your energy, Rex,” he added. “We’ll do what has to be done.”
Bitcoin Price Presses Toward $4,500
Although it is difficult to calculate the impact of global volatility on the bitcoin price, CCN has previously documented a correlation between U.S.-North Korean tensions and an uptick in the bitcoin price. Last week, for instance, the bitcoin price surged $260 on the same day that a North Korean diplomat accused the United States of taking actions tantamount to declaring war.
Monday, a similar phenomenon occurred, as the bitcoin price rose as high as $4,470 following Trump’s insistence that the United States was wasting its time by seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict with North Korea. Despite a minor dip, the bitcoin price is still up more than $100 — or 3% — for the day and is currently trading at $4,418.
BTC Price Chart from Bitfinex
Of course, there are other factors at play. Last week, for instance, Japan officially licensed 11 bitcoin exchanges, reinforcing the country’s status as an emerging leader within the global crypto economy. Moreover, the markets have spent the past several weeks recovering from the shock of China’s ICO and bitcoin exchange ban, making it difficult to measure the effect of any one factor on the trajectory of the bitcoin price. In any case, this progress is consistent with the $5,000 interim price target that many analysts have set for bitcoin.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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