Bitcoin resumed its slide Thursday, dipping below $14,000 as the cryptocurrency\u2019s dizzying drop from a record set 10 days ago intensified.<\/p>\n
The latest blow to the world\u2019s biggest cryptocurrency came from South Korea, where the government said it was eyeing options for stamping out a frenzy of speculation, including a potential shutdown of at least some exchanges.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin fell as much as 9% to $13,828 overnight, erasing modest gains after the South Korean release, composite Bloomberg pricing shows.<\/p>\n
The cryptocurrency fluctuated near $14,000 as of 9:20 a.m. in New York. It\u2019s now down 28% from the record $19,511 it reached on Dec. 18.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin\u2019s plunge comes after futures contracts started trading on CME Group\u2019s exchange, giving investors new ways to bet on the digital coin\u2019s price moves.<\/p>\n
The news from South Korea unnerved traders because the country has been ground zero for a global surge in interest in bitcoin as its rally this year reached 1,600%, prompting the nation\u2019s prime minister to worry over the impact on Korean youth.<\/p>\n
While there\u2019s no indication Asia\u2019s No. 4 economy will shutter exchanges that have accounted by some measures for more than a fifth of global trading, the news is a warning as regulators express concerns about private digital currencies.<\/p>\n
South Korea will require real-name cryptocurrency transactions and impose a ban on the offering of virtual accounts by banks to crypto-exchanges, according to a statement from the Office for Government Policy Coordination.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin was trading at about a 30% premium over prevailing international rates on Thursday in Seoul, according to price data from local exchanges, a continuing sign of the country\u2019s obsession, and the difficulty in arbitraging between markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cCryptocurrency speculation has been irrationally overheated in Korea,\u201d the government said in the statement, which comes little more than a week after the bankruptcy filing of one South Korean exchange.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government can\u2019t leave the abnormal situation of speculation any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Singapore\u2019s monetary authority warned last week that digital currency buyers should be aware they could lose all their money, joining counterparts who\u2019ve warned about speculative mania surrounding bitcoin, which has surged more than 1,300% this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulators are getting so concerned that this is primarily and predominantly a retail phenomenon,\u201d said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia Pacific at Oanda.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulators not only in Asia but globally are going to start addressing this fact because I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve actually come to terms with what the absolute downside of a complete drop in crypto means for the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n