Economists believe that the government in South Korea must act soon to regulate cryptocurrency trading. The Korea Times reported on January 19th some economists\' belief that digital currencies will be of benefit only to a few individuals, while the rest of society will ultimately have to bear the terrible cost.

Hong Kong financial expert Andrew Sheng joins the bubble faction, who sees an inevitable future burst, and suggests that citizens will blame their government when that happens. When the market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies reached over $700bn, Sheng said that this equated to the market price of approximately half of all official gold reserves. With gold, at least, investors have a tangible asset registered with custodians or central banks, but the billions held in crypto assets could just disappear overnight.

According to surveys conducted in South Korea, many of the country\'s investors in cryptocurrency are young people in their 20s, who seem to have put a large proportion, sometimes all, of their money in it, as well as their hope for the future. When the bubble ultimately bursts, in Sheng’s opinion, many people who could least afford it would lose their savings, likening the system to a Ponzi scheme.

South Korea\'s government departments continue to deliberate regulations, but so far have limited themselves to warnings.