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Chaos reigns as South Korea moves to ban cryptocurrency trading
Not happy with simply regulating cryptocurrency exchanges, South Korea has moved to ban all cryptocurrency trading within its borders, sparking chaos in global markets.
The decision to implement an outright ban, only weeks after implementing new regulations, was announced by South Korea’s justice minister at a press conference Thursday morning local time. It was justified on the basis that there are “great concerns regarding virtual currencies.”
What those concerns are were not spelled out. But the South Korean government had previously cited concerns about money laundering and rampant speculation that had created “bitcoin zombies,” people who spend their entire day checking the price of bitcoin.
At the same time the ban on cryptocurrency exchanges was announced, South Korea’s two largest cryptocurrencies were raided by local authorities. According to Reuters, both Coinone and Bithumb were raided by police and tax agencies for alleged tax evasion.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges are some of the world’s largest. Investors in the country hold significant amounts of various cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Ripple. Even with the police raid, Bithumb is listed as the second-largest exchange globally by volume in the last 24 hours, according to figures from Coinmarketcap.
The crackdowns in South Korea will have an impact on investor activity in cryptocurrencies, and the market knows it. There’s red ink across nearly every cryptocurrency as of midnight EST as news of the forthcoming ban spread.
Bitcoin led the plunge, dropping 10 percent, or nearly $2,000, to $13,279.43 as of midnight. Ethereum, which had otherwise seen a slow price increase over the last month, dropped 5 percent, or nearly $1,000, to $13,389. And previous market darling Ripple XRP dropped 14 percent, to $1.69. The only cryptocurrency seemingly bucking the trend was bitcoin alternative Bitcoin Cash, which rose 6 percent in some Asian markets as investors looked for cryptocurrencies with low exposure to the South Korean market.
Picture: Edward N. Johnson/Wikimedia Commons
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