South Korea said on Thursday it plans to ban trading of cryptocurrency, including the popular bitcoin.
韩国周四表示计划禁止加密货币的交易，其中就包括热门的比特币。
The announcement sent bitcoin prices much lower and created unrest in the cryptocurrency market.
这一消息使得比特币价格大幅走低，并引起了加密货币市场的不安。
Justice Minister Park Sang-ki said the government was preparing a bill to ban trading of the virtual money on South Korean currency exchanges.
韩国司法部长朴相基( Park Sang-ki)表示，政府正在准备立法禁止韩国货币交易所交易虚拟货币。
He said," There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies and the justice ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges."
他说：“关于虚拟货币存在很大的担忧。司法部正在准备立法，以禁止加密货币通过交易所交易。”
The price of bitcoin in South Korea dropped as much as 21 percent immediately after the minister's comments.
韩国的比特币价格在部长这番言论之后立马下跌了 21%。
Around the world, one bitcoin was valued at about $14,000 on Thursday, January 11. Over the past year, the price moved from less than $1,000 in January 2017 to a high of $19,000 last month.
1月 11日全球范围内一枚比特币的价格在 1.4万美元左右。过去一年里，比特币价格从 2017年 1月不到 1千美元涨到了上个月的 1.9万美元。
Bitcoin is different from national currencies, which are supported by governments and national banks. It is stored as a line of computer code. It is not printed on paper or something you can hold.
比特币不同于得到政府和国家银行背书的国家货币。它被存储为一行计算机代码，它不是打印在纸上或其它你可以直接持有的东西。
Bitcoin is similar to real money because you can spend it without using your real identity, as you do with a credit card. People who want to buy and sell things anonymously like bitcoin.
比特币与真实货币类似，因为你在消费比特币时，无需像刷信用卡一样使用你的真实身份。人们想要像比特币一样匿名买卖东西。
Exchanges of bitcoin in South Korea
韩国的比特币交易
By Thursday afternoon, more than 55,000 South Koreans called on the government to stop the proposed ban.
截至周四下午，超过 5.5万名韩国人呼吁政府终止拟议的禁令。
After the price drop, the South Korean president's office said a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges had yet to be finalized. It said the ban was one of the measures being considered.
在价格下跌之后，韩国总统办公室表示，加密货币交易禁令尚未最终敲定，禁令只是正在考虑的措施之一。
A press official at the justice ministry said the proposed ban on cryptocurrency trading came after" enough discussion" with finance ministry and financial officials.
司法部一位新闻官员表示，拟议的加密货币禁令经过了与财政部和财政官员的“充分讨论。”
Once a bill is written, legislation for a ban of virtual coin trading still requires a majority of the vote in the National Assembly. It is a process that could take months or even years.
一旦议案出台，对虚拟货币交易禁令的立法还需要获得国民议会多数票同意。这个过程可以需要几个月甚至几年时间。
Mun Chong-hyun, chief analyst at EST Security, told Reuters the ban" will make trading difficult here, but not impossible."
EST Security首席分析师 Mun Chong-hyun对路透社表示，禁令“会使交易在韩国变得困难，但不是无法交易。”
Mun added," Keen traders, especially hackers, will find it tough to cash out their gains from virtual coin investments in Korea but they can go overseas, for example, Japan."
Mun补充说：“敏锐的交易者，尤其是黑客将会发现很难兑现从韩国虚拟货币投资中获得的收益，但是他们可以走出国门，例如去日本。”
Park Nok-sun is a cryptocurrency expert at NH Investment& Securities. Park said" Some officials are pushing for stronger and stronger regulations because they only see more (investors) jumping in, not out."
Park Nok-sun是 NH Investment& Securities的加密货币专家。 Park表示，“有些官员正在推动更强有力的监管规定，因为他们看到投资者只增不减。”
South Korean officials are worried that the rising value has fueled huge demand for cryptocurrency in the country. They fear college students and housewives are hoping to get rich quick by investing. They likened it to a game of chance.
韩国官员担心，比特币价格不断上涨已经刺激了该国加密货币的巨大需求。他们担心大学生和家庭主妇都希望通过投资比特币暴富。他们将这比作赌博。
The news of South Korea's proposed ban came as governments around the world are looking to control the trading of cryptocurrencies.
韩国拟议禁令的消息传来之际，世界各国政府都希望控制加密货币交易。
I'm Jonathan Evans.
乔纳森·埃文斯报道。
