Bitcoin Rebounds to $15,000 as Investors Find a Bottom, For Now

South Koreans still pay premium for bitcoin after warnings
Chicago trader sees last week’s lows being tested again

Gross, Yellen, Stiglitz, Gartman on Bitcoin

Gross, Yellen, Stiglitz, Gartman on Bitcoin
Bitcoin appeared to find a bottom Friday, rebounding to $15,000 after moves by South Korea to curb speculation and protect retail customers took the cryptocurrency down more than 8 percent yesterday.

Bitcoin was up almost 8 percent to $15,032 as of 2:16 p.m. Hong Kong time, composite Bloomberg pricing showed. The digital currency has slumped about 23 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.

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"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," he said, referring to the CME’s version.

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 1,500 percent for the year. The country is something of a bellwether for global demand, with South Koreans paying premiums about 20 percent over prevailing international rates as of Friday.