Bitcoin drops $2,000 in value as South Korea announces planned trading ban
Source: The Guardian
Bitcoin drops $2,000 in value as South Korea announces planned trading ban
News follows nations clampdown on cryptocurrencies as exchanges are raided over alleged tax evasion and fears of gambling addiction
Samuel Gibbs
Thu 11 Jan 18 10.42 GMT
The value of bitcoin plunged 13.5% in the early hours of Thursday after news hit that South Korea is planning to ban cryptocurrency trading.
News of the ban follows the raiding of local cryptocurrency exchanges by police and tax authorities over alleged tax evasion, as one of the key nations driving the demand for bitcoin and other virtual currencies attempts a clampdown.
There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies and [the] justice ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges, justice minister Park Sang-ki said.
The news sent bitcoin prices tumbling $2,000 from midnight UK time from a high of $14,890, according to data from Coinbase, before beginning to recover in the early hours of the morning.
In South Korea, where bitcoin trades at around a 30% premium compared to other countries, the local price plunged as much as 21% after the ministers comments.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/11/bitcoin-drops-value-south-korea-trading-ban-cryptocurrencies-tax-gambling