SEOUL: Bitcoin resumed its tumble on Thursday after South Korea said it was eyeing options including a potential shutdown of at least some cryptocurrency exchanges to stamp out a frenzy of speculation South Korea has been ground zero for a global surge in interest in bitcoin and other digital currencies as prices surged this year, prompting the nation's prime minister to worry over the impact on Korean youth. The cryptocurrency had retraced some of its losses by 12:09 p.m. in London, trading down 7.4% to $14,059. "Cryptocurrency speculation has been irrationally overheated in Korea," the government said in the statement, which comes little more than a week after the bankruptcy filing of one South Korean exchange. "The government can't leave the abnormal situation of speculation any longer. "Singapore's monetary authority warned last week that digital currency buyers should be aware they could lose all their money, joining counterparts who've warned about speculative mania surrounding bitcoin, which has surged more than 1,300% this year.

Source: Economic Times December 28, 2017 18:00 UTC