The value of bitcoin is dropping rapidly amid concerns that trading could be banned in South Korea.
The volatile cryptocurrency hit a record high when it passed $19,850 in mid-December, but then tumbled rapidly, falling to below $12,000 within days.
Its value shifted unpredictably over the following weeks, but appeared to be on the up again after the turn of the year. As of late, however, it has remained relatively steady.
It is worth $11,951 as of Tuesday morning UK time, according to the Coinbase exchange, meaning it has dropped by around 13 per cent over the past 24 hours.
Gadgets and tech news in pictures
+ show all Gadgets and tech news in pictures
1/43 Designed by Pierpaolo Lazzarini from Italian company Jet Capsule. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph. Jet Capsule/Cover Images
2/43 A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Images
3/43 A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Images
4/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
5/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
6/43 The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
7/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
8/43 Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex
9/43 Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex
10/43 A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters
11/43 A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters
12/43 A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex
13/43 A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters
14/43 A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters
15/43 A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty
16/43 A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty
17/43 Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S Reuters
18/43 The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar. This is a production preview of the Jaguar I-PACE, which will be revealed next year and on the road in 2018 AP
19/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's CEO Kazuya Kanemaru poses with his company's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' and other robots during a demonstration in Tokyo, Japan Reuters
20/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' Reuters
21/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' performs during its unveiling in Tokyo, Japan Reuters
22/43 Singulato Motors co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin poses in his company's concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
23/43 The interior of Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
24/43 Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 Reuters
25/43 A picture shows Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
26/43 Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo. The Connected company is a part of seven Toyota in-house companies that was created in April 2016 Getty
27/43 A Toyota Motors employee demonstrates a smartphone app with the company's pocket plug-in hybrid (PHV) service on the cockpit of the latest Prius hybrid vehicle during Toyota's "connected strategy" press briefing in Tokyo Getty
28/43 An exhibitor charges the battery cells of AnyWalker, an ultra-mobile chasis robot which is able to move in any kind of environment during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
29/43 A robot with a touch-screen information apps stroll down the pavillon at the Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
30/43 An exhibitor demonstrates the AnyWalker, an ultra-mobile chasis robot which is able to move in any kind of environment during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
31/43 Robotic fishes swim in a water glass tank displayed at the Korea pavillon during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
32/43 An employee shows a Samsung Electronics' Gear S3 Classic during Korea Electronics Show 2016 in Seoul, South Korea Reuters
33/43 Visitors experience Samsung Electronics' Gear VR during the Korea Electronics Grand Fair at an exhibition hall in Seoul, South Korea Getty
34/43 Amy Rimmer, Research Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, demonstrates the car manufacturer's Advanced Highway Assist in a Range Rover, which drives the vehicle, overtakes and can detect vehicles in the blind spot, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA wire
35/43 Chris Burbridge, Autonomous Driving Software Engineer for Tata Motors European Technical Centre, demonstrates the car manufacturer's GLOSA V2X functionality, which is connected to the traffic lights and shares information with the driver, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA wire
36/43 Ford EEBL Emergency Electronic Brake Lights is demonstrated during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA
37/43 Full-scale model of 'Kibo' on display at the Space Dome exhibition hall of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center, in Tsukuba, north-east of Tokyo, Japan EPA
38/43 Miniatures on display at the Space Dome exhibition hall of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center, in Tsukuba, north-east of Tokyo, Japan. In its facilities, JAXA develop satellites and analyse their observation data, train astronauts for utilization in the Japanese Experiment Module 'Kibo' of the International Space Station (ISS) and develop launch vehicles EPA
39/43 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to the music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight. At this biennial event, the participating companies exhibit their latest service robotic technologies and components Getty
40/43 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight Getty
41/43 Government and industry are working together on a robot-like autopilot system that could eliminate the need for a second human pilot in the cockpit AP
42/43 Aurora Flight Sciences' technicians work on an Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automantion System (ALIAS) device in the firm's Centaur aircraft at Manassas Airport in Manassas, Va. AP
43/43 Flight Simulator Stefan Schwart and Udo Klingenberg preparing a self-built flight simulator to land at Hong Kong airport, from Rostock, Germany EPA
Previous to that, its price had fluctuated between the $13,000 and $14,000 marks for around a week.
Its value is down more than 39 per cent from a month ago, but still up more than 1,295 per cent from a year ago.
Recent goings-on have demonstrated just how quickly the situation can change for investors.
The cryptocurrency’s value plummeted ahead of Christmas, dropping by almost $2,000 in just an hour at one point, and almost slipping below the $11,000 mark.
Bitcoin is notoriously volatile, and its value is expected to continue to shift unpredictably.
Its rise has also led to increasing amounts of interest in alternative cryptocurrencies, such as ethereum, litecoin and XRP.
All other major digital currencies have also dropped in value, according to CoinMarketCap
Naturally, its spectacular rise has coincided with increasing amounts of interest, with more and more people now looking to invest.
However, there are serious fears that bitcoin has created a bubble that could burst at any moment.
Numerous financial experts are advising potential investors to avoid getting involved with bitcoin, and the SEC has told people to “exercise caution” and be wary of scammers.
However, others are speculating that it could keep rising towards the $1m mark.
Bitcoin only exists online, has no central bank and isn’t linked to or regulated by any state.
An anonymised record of every bitcoin transaction is stored on a huge public ledger known as a blockchain.
However, transactions made with the cryptocurrency are irreversible, which makes investors in bitcoin attractive targets for cybercriminals.
This article is being regularly updated to reflect bitcoin’s latest value.
Cryptocurrencies across the market are plunging amid new fears that trading them could be banned.
The drop comes amid suggestions that South Korea could ban trading in cryptocurrencies entirely, or at the very least impose sweeping new regulation on the market. South Korea has become hugely invested in bitcoin, with trading becoming mainstream and helping propel the until now rocketing price of the cryptocurrency.
The new fall is affecting every cryptocurrencies – bitcoin has dropped by more than 15 per cent, and is the best performing among its competitors . But it's not the first time that South Korea has suggested it will ban cryptocurrencies, and it's not the first time that saying so has led to wild volatility in the price of bitcoin and others.
Gadgets and tech news in pictures
+ show all Gadgets and tech news in pictures
1/43 Designed by Pierpaolo Lazzarini from Italian company Jet Capsule. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph. Jet Capsule/Cover Images
2/43 A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Images
3/43 A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Images
4/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
5/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
6/43 The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
7/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
8/43 Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex
9/43 Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex
10/43 A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters
11/43 A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters
12/43 A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex
13/43 A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters
14/43 A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters
15/43 A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty
16/43 A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty
17/43 Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S Reuters
18/43 The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar. This is a production preview of the Jaguar I-PACE, which will be revealed next year and on the road in 2018 AP
19/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's CEO Kazuya Kanemaru poses with his company's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' and other robots during a demonstration in Tokyo, Japan Reuters
20/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' Reuters
21/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' performs during its unveiling in Tokyo, Japan Reuters
22/43 Singulato Motors co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin poses in his company's concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
23/43 The interior of Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
24/43 Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 Reuters
25/43 A picture shows Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
26/43 Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo. The Connected company is a part of seven Toyota in-house companies that was created in April 2016 Getty
27/43 A Toyota Motors employee demonstrates a smartphone app with the company's pocket plug-in hybrid (PHV) service on the cockpit of the latest Prius hybrid vehicle during Toyota's "connected strategy" press briefing in Tokyo Getty
28/43 An exhibitor charges the battery cells of AnyWalker, an ultra-mobile chasis robot which is able to move in any kind of environment during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
29/43 A robot with a touch-screen information apps stroll down the pavillon at the Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
30/43 An exhibitor demonstrates the AnyWalker, an ultra-mobile chasis robot which is able to move in any kind of environment during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
31/43 Robotic fishes swim in a water glass tank displayed at the Korea pavillon during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
32/43 An employee shows a Samsung Electronics' Gear S3 Classic during Korea Electronics Show 2016 in Seoul, South Korea Reuters
33/43 Visitors experience Samsung Electronics' Gear VR during the Korea Electronics Grand Fair at an exhibition hall in Seoul, South Korea Getty
34/43 Amy Rimmer, Research Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, demonstrates the car manufacturer's Advanced Highway Assist in a Range Rover, which drives the vehicle, overtakes and can detect vehicles in the blind spot, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA wire
35/43 Chris Burbridge, Autonomous Driving Software Engineer for Tata Motors European Technical Centre, demonstrates the car manufacturer's GLOSA V2X functionality, which is connected to the traffic lights and shares information with the driver, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA wire
36/43 Ford EEBL Emergency Electronic Brake Lights is demonstrated during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA
37/43 Full-scale model of 'Kibo' on display at the Space Dome exhibition hall of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center, in Tsukuba, north-east of Tokyo, Japan EPA
38/43 Miniatures on display at the Space Dome exhibition hall of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center, in Tsukuba, north-east of Tokyo, Japan. In its facilities, JAXA develop satellites and analyse their observation data, train astronauts for utilization in the Japanese Experiment Module 'Kibo' of the International Space Station (ISS) and develop launch vehicles EPA
39/43 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to the music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight. At this biennial event, the participating companies exhibit their latest service robotic technologies and components Getty
40/43 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight Getty
41/43 Government and industry are working together on a robot-like autopilot system that could eliminate the need for a second human pilot in the cockpit AP
42/43 Aurora Flight Sciences' technicians work on an Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automantion System (ALIAS) device in the firm's Centaur aircraft at Manassas Airport in Manassas, Va. AP
43/43 Flight Simulator Stefan Schwart and Udo Klingenberg preparing a self-built flight simulator to land at Hong Kong airport, from Rostock, Germany EPA
Last week, a government minister suggested that the country ban trading in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. That suggestion was quickly revoked, with officials saying that less extreme regulation was likely.
But South Korea's most powerful financial policymakers has now said that a complete crackdown is still possible, and that new regulations like the use of real names will probably arrive soon.
Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in an interview with local radio station TBS that banning trading in digital currencies was "a live option." He said the decision was subject to a thorough government review.
"There are no disagreements over regulating speculation," such as using real-name accounts and levying taxes on crypto currency trading, Kim said. Shutting down digital currency exchanges is "a live option but government ministries need to very seriously review it," he said.
Bitcoin was trading at $12,615.60, down 7.1 percent from the day before as of 8:03 a.m. GMT, according to Coindesk. The price of ethereum, another digital currency, had slipped 7.8 percent to $1,190.45 as of 8:04 a.m. GMT.
South Korean officials' remarks have swayed the global markets for bitcoin and other crypto currencies in the past few weeks. The country has seen a huge bitcoin craze, with young and old betting on the crypto currency to build wealth. The high demand from South Korean investors has created what investors call a "kimchi premium," the extra price the South Koreans have to pay to buy digital currencies, sold in South Korea at higher than the average global prices.
Last week, the justice minister's remark that the country will ban bitcoin and other digital currencies triggered big sell-offs and a public outcry. The presidential office then said that no final decision had been made.
An online petition on the presidential office's website has drawn more than 210,000 requests from people asking the government not to ban trading in digital currencies.
"We the citizens were able to have a happy dream that we had never had in South Korea thanks to crypto currency," the petition reads. "You may think you are protecting the public but we citizens think that the government is stealing our dream."
Additional reporting by Associated Press
Look away now if you own bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. This won’t be breaking news to you if you are invested, but today has seen the entire crypto market fall by double-digit percentages.
The price of bitcoin slumped by 15 percent to drop below $12,000 for the first time since December 4. Ethereum, meanwhile, fell by over 20 percent to hover above $1,000 and Ripple is down 33 percent to $1.23 at the time of writing.
The price drop is having a huge impact. According to Coinmarketcap.com, a site that is quickly becoming the go-to price checker, just one of the top 100 highest valued cryptocurrencies isn’t in the red over the past 24 hours. That’s Tether.
It’s a far cry from when bitcoin hit a record of close to $20,000 exactly a month ago on December 16.
Despite the drop, Ethereum, Ripple and the rest of the alt coins have largely fared worse than bitcoin.
The top 10 based on coin market caps…
Numbers 11-20…
Finally, a little green ink at number 25…
Like all things crypto price related, it isn’t clear what is driving the changes.
A Bloomberg report yesterday suggested that China is preparing to block domestic internet users accessing international bitcoin exchanges. The country banned Chinese exchanges and ICOs last year.
Last week, it emerged that the central government is working to drive out China’s bitcoin miners, who are thought to account for the majority on the planet. Many of the bigger names are already expanding overseas in preparation but the news jolted the market.
There’s also been plenty of speculation around Korea’s plans to regulate crypto, although the government has since clarified it doesn’t plan an all-out ban on bitcoin and crypto trading.
Crypto being crypto, there are some alternative theories, too.
It's crazy how one video could have caused this crash. The video that caused this was posted on the main Bitcoin subreddit yesterday and it send a shock wave through the bitcoin community: https://t.co/yqnd0a7rpS — UFO Today (@CryptoKong) January 16, 2018
We’ve been here before, of course — the headline to this story may seem familiar….
The crypto market suffered huge loses right before Christmas last month although most valuations had recovered since, such is the volatile nature of the space. That could yet happen following today’s slump. Indeed, some financial market watchers predicted prices could jump this week as Wall Street bankers collect their bonuses.
Note: The author owns a small amount of cryptocurrency, including ETH and BTC.
Featured Image: Bryce Durbin
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Today, on January 16, the cryptocurrency market experienced a major correction, for the third time in the past 10 days. The price of most cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash declined by around 10 percent, while small cryptocurrencies recorded larger losses.
With the exception of NEO and Monero, all of the top 20 cryptocurrencies have fallen in value. Cryptocurrencies that have recorded a decline of over 10 percent include Ripple, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, EOS, Dash, Tron, Bitcoin Gold, and Ethereum Classic.
Small Cryptocurrencies Take a Big Hit
Cryptocurrencies with lower market caps, specifically cryptocurrencies outside of the top 10 global rankings, have recorded larger losses than established digital currencies like bitcoin and Ethereum. Even cryptocurrencies with trading volumes heavily concentrated in South Korea such as Qtum and EOS have declined in value, even though the South Korean cryptocurrency market recovered from the latest trading ban FUD.
The recent correction of the cryptocurrency market was not triggered by South Korea or China, as the market have already recovered from the FUD produced by the authorities in both regions. Rather, it is likely that the major correction was caused by the abrupt surge in the market valuation of most cryptocurrencies in the market within a short period of time, with minor corrections.
Within the past 30 days, the market valuation of cryptocurrencies increased from $540 billion to $840 billion, with several cryptocurrencies with Tron that do not have enough users, decentralized applications, and user activity to justify their market valuations, surging by billions of dollars.
The technology of cryptocurrencies is irrelevant in this argument. The technology of Tron or other cryptocurrencies could be sophisticated and advanced. They likely are. But, not enough users are using these blockchain networks to give them multi-billion dollar valuations. As Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin previously stated:
“So total cryptocoin market cap just hit $0.5 trillion today. But have we earned it? How many unbanked people have we banked? How much censorship-resistant commerce for the common people have we enabled? How many decentralized applications have we created that have substantial usage? In the last 3 years, the crypto market cap has increased by 200x, but I definitely don’t feel like crypto’s potential has increased by 200x. In some key sectors (eg. payments) it has even regressed. The answer to all of these questions is definitely not zero, and in some cases it’s quite significant. But not enough to say it’s $0.5T levels of significant. Not enough.”
Considering that public blockchains have not been able to demonstrate their potential through the success of decentralized applications, it is normal that the cryptocurrency market has experienced a major correction. It is also healthy that the market experiences corrections on a regular basis, as corrections prevent short-term bubbles from forming.
Short-Term Trend
As the market did many times in the past few years, most cryptocurrencies will likely recover in value in the upcoming days. It is more likely that South Korea and Japan-centered cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Zcash, Dash, and Qtum will recover first.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
