South Korea may shut down crypto-currency exchanges amid speculation ‘frenzy’
Seoul/Hong Kong — Bitcoin resumed its tumble on Thursday after South Korea said it was eyeing options that include a potential shutdown of at least some crypto-currency exchanges to stamp out a frenzy of speculation. South Korea has been ground zero for a global surge in interest in bitcoin and other digital currencies as prices surged this year, prompting the nation’s prime minister to worry over the impact on Korean youth. While there’s no indication that Asia’s fourth-largest 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. Bitcoin fell as much as 9% to as low as $13,828 in Asia trading, erasing modest gains after the South Korean release, composite Bloomberg pricing shows. The crypto-currency had retraced some of its losses by 1.57pm in London, trading down 5.4% to $14,371. This puts the drop from a record high reached last week at ...
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