HONG KONG: Bitcoin appeared to find a bottom above $14,000 on Friday after moves by South Korea to curb speculation and protect retail customers took the cryptocurrency down more than 8 percent yesterday.Bitcoin was up about 6 percent at $14,800 as of 10:14 a.m. Hong Kong time, composite Bloomberg pricing showed.The digital currency has slumped about 24 percent from its record $19,511 reached on Dec. 18, when the CME Group Inc. introduced its futures contract. While bitcoin’s debut on regulated derivatives exchanges in Chicago was thought to have given it a new mainstream channel for investors to tap, so far trading volume has been limited.”Short-term support is about $13,500 -- we’ve hit that the last couple of trading sessions," Chris Gersch, director of strategy at Bell Curve Capital LP in Chicago, said on Bloomberg Television.“Ultimately I think it moves lower and tests last week’s lows around $12,400 in the futures contract.”The South Korean government has been among the loudest voices of concern about a possible speculative bubble in the largest cryptocurrency, which is still up about 1,400 percent for the year.The country is something of a bellwether for global demand, with South Koreans paying premiums above 20 percent over prevailing international rates as of Friday. - Bloomberg

Source: The Star December 29, 2017 03:45 UTC