[ti:South Korea Plans to Ban Bitcoin Trading] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.16]South Korea said on Thursday it plans to ban trading of cryptocurrency, [00:07.00]including the popular bitcoin. [00:10.24]The announcement sent bitcoin prices much lower [00:15.52]and created unrest in the cryptocurrency market. [00:20.44]Justice Minister Park Sang-ki said the government was preparing a bill [00:25.76]to ban trading of the virtual money on South Korean currency exchanges. [00:32.68]He said, "There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies [00:38.03]and the justice ministry is basically preparing a bill [00:41.64]to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges." [00:46.00]The price of bitcoin in South Korea dropped as much as [00:51.25]21 percent immediately after the minister's comments. [00:57.04]Around the world, one bitcoin was valued at about [01:01.50]$14,000 on Thursday, January 11. [01:07.04]Over the past year, the price moved from less than $1,000 [01:12.68]in January 2017 to a high of $19,000 last month. [01:19.40]Bitcoin is different from national currencies, [01:23.96]which are supported by governments and national banks. [01:28.76]It is stored as a line of computer code. [01:32.84]It is not printed on paper or something you can hold. [01:37.68]Bitcoin is similar to real money because you can spend it [01:42.28]without using your real identity, as you do with a credit card. [01:47.80]People who want to buy and sell things anonymously like bitcoin. [01:54.60]By Thursday afternoon, more than 55,000 South Koreans [02:00.16]called on the government to stop the proposed ban. [02:05.00]After the price drop, the South Korean president's office said [02:09.72]a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges had yet to be finalized. [02:15.48]It said the ban was one of the measures being considered. [02:20.96]A press official at the justice ministry said [02:24.24]the proposed ban on cryptocurrency trading came after [02:28.31]"enough discussion" with finance ministry and financial officials. [02:34.00]Once a bill is written, legislation for a ban of virtual coin trading [02:39.84]still requires a majority of the vote in the National Assembly. [02:45.36]It is a process that could take months or even years. [02:50.76]Mun Chong-hyun, chief analyst at EST Security, [02:55.12]told Reuters the ban "will make trading difficult here, but not impossible." [03:01.88]Mun added, "Keen traders, especially hackers, [03:06.42]will find it tough to cash out their gains from virtual coin investments in Korea [03:12.32]but they can go overseas, for example, Japan." [03:16.68]Park Nok-sun is a cryptocurrency expert at NH Investment & Securities. [03:24.28]Park said "Some officials are pushing for stronger and stronger regulations [03:30.28]because they only see more (investors) jumping in, not out." [03:34.28]South Korean officials are worried that the rising value [03:39.25]has fueled huge demand for cryptocurrency in the country. [03:44.72]They fear college students and housewives [03:48.13]are hoping to get rich quick by investing. [03:51.76]They likened it to a game of chance. [03:56.48]The news of South Korea's proposed ban [04:00.04]came as governments around the world [04:02.60]are looking to control the trading of cryptocurrencies. [04:07.44]I'm Jonathan Evans. [04:09.32]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM