Bitcoin tumbles on reports South Korea will ban all cryptocurrency trading | MarketCrunch
Meanwhile, two of South Korea?s biggest exchanges, Coinone and Bithumb, were raided by police and tax authorities this week, according to the Reuters report.
Thursday marked a volatile day of trading in the digital currency space, with bitcoin under pressure, and Ripple and Ether coins suffering losses, after reports that South Korea plans to ban all cryptocurrency trading.
The bitcoin spot price BTCUSD-4.02% was recently down 7.9% to $13,713.85, having tapped an intraday low of $12,845.71, according to CoinDesk data. Those levels haven?t been seen since late December, and the cryptocurrency remains well below a recent all-time high above $19,000 hit in mid-December.
Bitcoin futures for January BTCF8-2.77% on the CME dropped 5% to $13,720, and on the Cboe, bitcoin futures XBTF8-2.73% saw a similar drop to $13,700.
Among other cryptocurrencies, Ripple sank 9.2% to $1.73, while Ether coins on the Ethereum blockchain slid 11.5% to $1,193.37, according to CoinMarketCap.com data.
?There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies and justice ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges,? South Korea?s Minister of Justice Park Sang-Ki said at a news conference Thursday, according to the ministry?s office, Reuters reported.
The decision was made after discussions with the country?s finance ministry and regulators, the report said. But even if a bill is drafted, the process of getting the votes needed to approve it could be lengthy and could even take years.