Bitcoin Prices Suffer Big Fall. Latest Price And Other Details In 5 Points

The prices of bitcoin suffered a big fall today after South Korea said it was preparing a bill to ban trade in the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin dropped sharply on the Bitstamp exchange, after South Korea's justice minister said a bill was being prepared to ban cryptocurrency trading. On Thursday, bitcoin prices were trading at $14110 at 8:57 pm.. Other cryptocurrencies also suffered a fall. Ethereum was trading 8.09 per cent lower at $1,240.62 on coinmarketcap.com at 9:02 pm.

Bitcoin's Price Plunge In 5 Points

South Korea is a crucial source of global demand for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. "There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies and the justice ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges," South Korea's Justice minister Park Sang-ki said.

After the market's sharp reaction to the announcement, South Korea's Presidential office hours later said a ban on the country's virtual coin exchanges had not yet been finalised while it was one of the measures being considered.

South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinone and Bithumb were raided by police and tax agencies this week for alleged tax evasion.

COMMENTSDespite warnings from regulators of many countries, Bitcoin prices saw a big surge last year. From $1,000 in the beginning of 2017, it surged closer to $20,000 in mid-December 2017, before giving up some gains towards the year-end.

The Indian finance ministry recently cautioned investors about the risks of trading in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying digital currency investments are like "Ponzi schemes." Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender and have no regulatory permission or protection in the country, the finance ministry said in a statement. "There is a real and heightened risk of investment bubble of the type seen in Ponzi schemes", with investors risking a sudden and prolonged crash, the statement said. (With Reuters Inputs)