Chapter 10

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"100 is a lot, isn't it!"

Jungwoo was surprised for a reason.

As of February 2017, the price of Bitcoin was around $1,000.

In other words, 100 Bitcoins were worth about 100 million won.

'And Bitcoin will go up to $70,000 later... Wow. How much would that be?'

In a few years, a simple calculation would show that it would be worth 7 billion won.

To casually say that she had 100 such Bitcoins...

Jungwoo looked at her in disbelief, and Jisuhyeon, sensing his gaze, hesitated before speaking.

"... Well, when I'm at home, I usually leave the mining program running while I play games and do other things... Don't look at me like that. I know women who play games aren't very popular."

"What are you talking about? I'm just envious."

"Envious? Of what?"

"Looks like you're really rich, Suhyeon."

"I'm not rich."

"Do you know how much one Bitcoin is worth now?"

"About $150, right?"

"......"

What a clueless woman.

She's good at programming, but why is she so clueless in this area?

"... Do you know how much you're making now?"

"About 300 after tax."

"I know that, but about Bitcoin... Ah, I shouldn't have said anything. Anyway, Suhyeon, you shouldn't casually talk about your assets or money. What if I had bad intentions and stole your coins?"

"Me? Why would you?"

"Well, Bitcoin is worth money, isn't it?"

"Oh, you said 'coins.' If you need them, I can lend them to you."

"Lend them?"

"Yes. I collect Bitcoin as a hobby, but I don't use it at all."

"... I appreciate your offer, but this is a serious matter. If you go around lending them so casually, you'll get scammed."

"Ah, I'm sorry. Let's pretend I didn't say that..."

"... Lend them to me."

"Excuse me?"

"Bitcoin, lend them to me, Suhyeon."

Thinking about it, there was no reason to refuse her offer.

Every bit of money counts.

Jungwoo got up from his chair and made a show of kneeling.

"I'm begging you. Please lend them to me!"

"... Ah, I understand. It's embarrassing, so please stand up."

"Really? You won't take it back later?"

"Yes, I'll lend them to you."

"Great. Let's write a promissory note."

"Promissory note? Do we really need to write one?"

"Come on, in financial matters, you have to be precise. Wait a moment... Excuse me, can I borrow a pen?"

Jungwoo borrowed a ballpoint pen from the pub and flipped over the table setting with a menu drawn on it to write a promissory note on the spot.

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Loan Amount (Asset): 100 Bitcoins

I hereby borrow the above amount (asset) and promise to fulfill the following terms.

1. The interest rate is set at 10% per year.

2. The repayment of the principal is set for December 31, 2017, and the principal will be deposited into the creditor's Bitcoin wallet on that date. If repayment in Bitcoin is difficult, an equivalent amount will be deposited into the creditor's bank account, based on the market value of Bitcoin on that date.

3. If the interest payment is overdue, the debtor will forfeit the borrowing rights, and the creditor can demand the remaining principal without objection.

February 5, 2017

Creditor: Jisuhyeon (Seal)

Debtor: Lee Jungwoo (Seal)

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"... 10% interest per year seems too high. It's better to remove the interest clause."

"No, this is the minimum to make it worth it for you. Besides, it's lower than the legal interest rate, and I'd feel uncomfortable if the interest was too low."

"I won't lend them to you if you don't remove the interest clause."

The stubborn Jisuhyeon.

After some back and forth, they finally wrote the promissory note without the interest clause.

'Thanks. I'll have to give you some interest later.'

Since she lent it without conditions, he was grateful, and more importantly, the 100 million won worth of funds he borrowed would multiply several hundred times, so it wouldn't be hard to add a little interest.

And the opportunity to pay back the money came soon.

* * *

One of the common traits that foreigners often mock about Koreans is their short-term enthusiasm. They heat up quickly and cool down just as fast.

This interesting phenomenon, where people become wildly enthusiastic about something and then quickly lose interest, also applied to Jungwoo. In the midst of his busy daily life, he had little energy to deeply care about others. As a result, the negative rumors about him had quietly disappeared.

Of course, Jungwoo didn't pay much attention to them in the first place. He had a mountain of tasks to handle.

The first thing he did was to vacate his lease and find a new place. Fortunately, the lease he put on the market quickly found a new tenant, and he was able to vacate the house within a month.

During this process, Jungwoo sold all his belongings to maximize cash and found a small studio near his company with minimal expenses. The studio was about 8 pyeong (26.4 square meters), and after placing a bed and a wardrobe, the space was quite cramped.

'With a deposit of 250 and a monthly rent of 40, this is a good deal.'

Jungwoo's frugal spirit, like a grasshopper tightening its belt. But he wasn't completely broke.

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A text message on his smartphone informed him that 200 million won had been deposited into his account.

This 200 million won was the remaining amount after paying off the 300 million won bank loan from the 500 million won lease deposit. He had received the 200 million won deposit back when he vacated the lease. This precious money included 150 million won that his father had supported him with for his marriage to An Yesul and 50 million won that Jungwoo had saved diligently.

As soon as the 200 million won was deposited, he remembered his parents' call to come down for the Lunar New Year, which he had missed due to the move and other things. His parents were worried about his marriage.

He hadn't told them about the divorce yet, fearing they would worry.

'... I'm sorry.'

Deciding the divorce without consulting them, the deposit, everything was regrettable.

Most of all, the 150 million won he borrowed from his father. He should return it immediately, but this time he decided to be a filial son later. To repay it with greater gratitude.

The unfilial son Jungwoo planned to reinvest the 200 million won in cryptocurrency. Of course, he didn't plan to invest only 200 million won.

'Let's get a credit loan too.'

Since he had paid off the lease loan, his credit limit was freed up, making a credit loan possible. Jungwoo immediately went to first and second-tier financial institutions to borrow as much as he could. His salary, though modest for his age, was quite good, so the loans were easy to get, though not as favorable as the lease loan.

Adding the 10 million won from the Lunar New Year gift, his January salary, and the 10 million won from selling his wedding ring and other items, he gathered an additional 200 million won. Combined with the 100 Bitcoins borrowed from Jisuhyeon, he had a total of 300 million won.

Total capital: 500 million won.

Jungwoo deposited all the money into a cryptocurrency exchange. He transferred the funds from a domestic exchange to the overseas futures exchange he used and checked his position and the market situation before buying.

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Ethereum, which had risen to $11.84, plummeted to $9.50 by mid-January. However, it started to rebound in February, surpassing $11 before settling around $10. Due to the high volatility, his position, which had reached $1.3 million, had decreased to $950,000. However, Jungwoo wasn't too concerned. He knew Ethereum would rise in the long run, so there was no need to worry about short-term fluctuations.

Instead, he tried to calmly analyze how to respond at this point.

'Looking at the 4-hour chart, it seems to be in a descending triangle pattern.'

Currently, Ethereum was in a descending triangle pattern, breaking the lower support line and slowly moving down along the upper resistance line.

This made it seem like a downtrend had started, even to someone who didn't know better.

'But not for me.'

Knowing that Ethereum would continue to rise, Jungwoo realized that the current low price was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He could feel it.

However, he was slightly hesitant about whether to invest all his 500 million won, about $460,000, and the $950,000 he had earned from Ethereum.

If he entered with high leverage, the liquidation price would be around $9. If Ethereum broke the $9 level and rebounded, all his capital could be liquidated. It was a bit risky to bet everything on a feeling.

'It's difficult. Even knowing the future, every moment is a gamble.'

If there were stock or cryptocurrency experts around, he could seek their advice.

As he felt a bit regretful, a face flashed through his mind.

"... Right! There's Kyungdo."

Kim Kyungdo, a friend who had introduced him to overseas stocks in the future and always talked about stock investment.

Since he was in a stock club in college, he might be able to offer some help.

Jungwoo immediately picked up his smartphone and opened the group chat with his friends.

───[Three Clueless Kims]───

- January 31, 2017 -

- February 1, 2017 -

- February 2, 2017 -

……

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A typical group chat for men.

Jungwoo left a message in the chat, where meaningless conversations usually took place.

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True to form, a reply came within a second.

Jungwoo asked his question.

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Like a pebble thrown into a stagnant pond, Jungwoo's mention of stocks in the group chat created ripples, bringing life to the quiet chat.

Having obtained what he needed, Jungwoo put down his smartphone and checked the chart again.

Thanks to Kim Kyungdo's advice, things he hadn't noticed before started to become clear.

'... It's true. The price is dropping as the trading volume increases. This means someone is accumulating.'

If there were no demand, there would be no buyers. Without buy orders, sellers would have to sell at much lower prices. Therefore, in a situation with little trading volume, the price would drop sharply.

However, looking at the Ethereum chart now, the trading volume was increasing while the price was slowly dropping. This indicated that there was sufficient buying pressure, and someone was deliberately lowering the price to accumulate.

'And as Kyungdo said, there's a divergence.'

Divergence refers to a situation where the stock price and the chart's technical indicators move in opposite directions, often used to predict trend reversals or continuations.

Currently, the 4-hour chart of Ethereum shows a 'bullish divergence' where the price is dropping but the trading volume is increasing. A bullish divergence is a strong signal that a downtrend will turn into an uptrend. All the signs pointed to an 'upward' trend.

He felt confident.

"… I need to buy now."

Originally, his plan was to wait for the strong support line at $9.50, which had held nine times on the 4-hour chart, before making a full purchase. However, given the current trend, it seemed that the price could drop to $9.50 or even lower at any moment.

Jungwoo immediately started accumulating Ethereum using all the seed money he had.

Oh.