Cryptocurrency prices tank due to regulatory fears

China has already taken strict actions against cryptocurrency trading, while South Korea is preparing a bill to impose tough regulatory requirements. Prices have now fallen 52 percent since bitcoin’s all time high $19,343.04 in December.

For context, one of the company’s key investments is a bitcoin mining operation coupled with a holding in Coinsquare, one of Canada’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bitcoin prices plunged below $10,000, marking the first time since November that the best-known cryptocurrency in the world sank so low.

According to a memo outlining details of discussions at a meeting of internet regulators and other policymakers last week, People’s Bank of China Vice-Governor Pan Gongsheng has said that national and local authorities should ban venues that provide centralized trading of virtual currencies, of which bitcoin is the biggest.

The comment indicates the government is moving to clear the recent confusion around cryptocurrency regulation in South Korea, mainly created by conflicting comments issued by different government bodies.

Cryptocurrencies continued to demonstrate extreme volatility, as the market value of all digital currencies fell by more than $200 billion on Tuesday, fueled by concern that countries that serve as major cryptocurrency markets may impose strict regulations on them. Officials are now weighing halting trading on exchanges.

So is this finally the massive supposed “bitcoin bubble” finally popping?

Analysts put the fall down to regulatory concerns in South Korea, China and now Russian Federation. Well, some say not so much. Bitcoin, that started its epic bull run a year ago, is gaining a quite similar pace in a reverse pattern. But while the rally is over, he said, “I don’t think it is right to say bitcoin is finished”.

While the drop in Bitcoin’s price has made many new crypto investors uneasy, a look at Bitcoin’s year-to-date growth put matters into perspective.

A small toy figure is seen on representations of the Bitcoin virtual currency in this illustration picture, December 26, 2017.

South Korea is one of the major players globally in cryptocurrency trading and as such the government now fears exposure to money laundering and cyber-crime from across its northern border. “It has an extremely volatile value, which undermines its use as a currency”. Don’t blindly invest in something without doing proper and thorough research, and never invest what you can’t afford to lose.