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Bitcoin Plunges Below $12,000 To Six-Week Low Over Crackdown Fears (cnbc.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the up-and-down dept.

Bitcoin plunged to a six-week low Tuesday after comments from South Korea's finance minister renewed worries about a crackdown in one of the largest markets for digital currency trading. In a radio program interview, South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said that "the shutdown of virtual currency exchanges is still one of the options" the government has. CNBC reports: Bitcoin dropped more than 17 percent to a low of $11,182.71 on Tuesday, falling below $12,000 for the first time since December 5, according to CoinDesk. CoinDesk's bitcoin price index tracks prices from cryptocurrency exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit and Bitfinex. As of 12:13 p.m. ET, bitcoin was trading more than 13 percent lower at $11,759.73 a coin, according to CoinDesk. Trading in South Korean won accounted for about 4 percent of bitcoin trading volume, according to CryptoCompare. U.S. dollar-bitcoin trading had the largest share at 40 percent, the website showed. Other major digital currencies including ethereum and ripple also fell significantly. According to CoinMarketCap data, ethereum was trading at $1,051.83, down more than 20 percent in the last 24 hours, before lifting slightly to $1,117.72. Ripple fell almost 27 percent to $1.33 a token before recovering slightly to $1.36.

6 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Proving that BitCoin has moved on by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Funny

    If the price is BitCoin is falling over fears of crackdowns, doesn't that mean that it's no longer primarily used by criminals?

    If so, then obviously BitCoin has just gained a lot of respectability, ensuring its future rise.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Proving that BitCoin has moved on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not at all. Criminals want a currency that can be traded for real money - and if it cannot be, they'll abandon it too.

  2. Geepers by Northdot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Coinbase shows it's at $10K (as of 15:30 MST on Tuesday). Down 28 percent in one day.

    Hope all you speculators have iron nerves!

  3. I didn't win by AndyKron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I should have bought when it was $7 a BC, but I would have sold it at $14

    1. Re:I didn't win by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wisdom that.

      I had a friend who bought $20k of google at its IPO circa $75, and he was kicking himself for selling at $160. I told him: "No, you had actual logical reasons for believing $75 was too low, and you sold when you ran out of reasons to believe it was still too low. That is called investing."

  4. Price has dropped even more, went below $10k by JoeyRox · · Score: 5, Informative

    Quote: https://www.gdax.com/trade/BTC-USD