S. Korea considers trading ban and digital currencies tumble

The value of numerous forms of digital currency is tumbling after South Korea, a hotbed for currencies like bitcoin, said it was weighing a trading ban.

The country’s justice minister said Thursday that South Korea plans to ban crypto currency trading, but the presidential office said later that a ban is under review, though no policy changes have been made.

The justice ministry has taken the sternest stance on digital currencies among the nation’s ministries, though other South Korean agencies oppose an outright ban.

Bitcoin slid 8 per cent, to $13,698, according to Coindesk. Etherium, another popular digital currency, fell 2.1 per cent, to $1,222.