Bitcoin Climbs Higher After Korean Regulator Hints at Cryptocurrency ‘Normalization’

After causing cryptocurrencies to crater last month, South Korea has surprisingly helped Bitcoin turn things around.

Bitcoin surged and stabilized yesterday after a South Korean regulator hinted at a lighter regulatory touch from the government, a marked departure from their warnings at the start of the year. Here’s Reuters:

The regulator said on Tuesday that it hopes to see South Korea – which has become a hub for cryptocurrency trade – normalize the virtual coin business in a self-regulatory environment.

“The whole world is now framing the outline (for cryptocurrency) and therefore (the government) should rather work more on normalization than increasing regulation,” said Choe Heung-sik, chief of South Korea’s Finance Supervisory Service (FSS), told reporters.

Following Choe’s comment, Bitcoin prices climbed to a three-week high of $11,160. It has since dropped to $10,481.14 thanks to Bangladeshi police that are “on the hunt for bitcoin users,” but it’s well above the $5,920.72 it posted early this month.

Tough oversight over illegal cryptocurrency trading however, will remain in place in South Korea.

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