Bitcoin hits a four-week low before rebounding on Tuesday as South Korean statements send cryptocurrency markets yo-yoingThe price of bitcoin was sent plummeting 18% as it and other cryptocurrencies yo-yo in value over fears of a wider trading crackdown spurred by renewed potential of South Korean regulatory action.
Bitcoin’s slide of over over $2200 triggered a massive selloff across the broader cryptocurrency market,with biggest rival Ethereum down 23% on the day, according to trade website Coinmarketcap, or the next biggest,Ripple, plunging 33%.
Bitcoin is the first, and the biggest,"cryptocurrency" – a decentralised tradable digital asset. Whether it is a bad investment is the tall question. Bitcoin can only be used as a medium of exchange and in practice has been far more important for the dark economy than it has for most lega uses. The lack of any central authority makes bitcoin remarkably resilient to censorship, corruption – or regulation. That means it has attracted a range of backers, and from libertarian monetarists who enjoy the thought of a currency with no inflation and no central bank,to drug dealers who like the fact that it is tough (but not impossible) to trace a bitcoin transaction back to a physical person.
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Source: theguardian.com