Bitcoin below $10,000; loss 50% in one month
Traders are fearful that South Korea will ban or cut trading.
Bitcoin fell below $10,000 Wednesday, extending a sell-off that has erased about half the digital currency’s value in one month. Other digital currencies fell sharply as well.
Bitcoin has slumped about 30 percent just this week as traders worry that regulators in South Korea will crack down on trading of digital currencies. The price of bitcoin fell 13 percent to $9,823 as of 1:26 p.m. Eastern Time, according to Coindesk.
Bitcoin hasn’t caught on as a currency for buying things, as intended. But it has drawn huge interest from traders, and its price has soared over the past year, and has also had several sharp drops.
The price of one bitcoin went from $1,000 at the beginning of last year to nearly $20,000 in December, and has lost about half its value in the last month. The latest plunge brings the price back to where it was in late November.
Many financial pros believe bitcoin is in a speculative bubble that could crash any time.
The possibility that South Korea will ban or restrict virtual currency trading has weighed on traders’ minds the last few weeks because the nation is a major market for currencies like bitcoin.
Those worries have also depressed the prices of other digital currencies that gained sharply in recent months.
Ethereum fell 17 percent Wednesday to $867, according to Coindesk. That is still roughly double where it was in November, and down sharply from its recent peak of $1,329 on Jan. 10.
Bitcoin and other digital currencies trade on private exchanges that have little regulation or protection for investors. In December two major financial exchanges, the Cboe and CME, started trading in bitcoin futures, which allow investors to make bets on the future price of bitcoin without actually holding bitcoins.
Bitcoin futures on both the Cboe and the CME fell about 10 percent Wednesday and hit their lowest levels since trading began last month.
Bitcoin is extremely hard to value because it has no country or central bank backing it and it’s not widely used to make transactions. Its value is tied only to what people believe it is worth at any given time.
Partly for that reason, it’s gone through numerous highs and lows in its brief history since being formed in 2009: After a plunge in November 2013, it lost about half its value in 2014. The huge rally in 2017 also came with some sharp selloffs, although those wound up being temporary.
Japanese vehicle brands are exploring new design ideas with new prototype vehicles.
Nissan, Infiniti and Lexus are all unveiling new concept cars at the Detroit auto show, opening to the public Saturday.
Concepts are used to test ideas and see how show visitors react. Some elements are glamorous but impractical, with sharply angled headlights or pencil-thin side mirrors that will never actually end up on a production vehicle. But other elements from concept cars do make it onto the road. Lexus’ gaping spindle grilles, now a feature on the automaker’s vehicles, were introduced in 2011 on the LF-Gh concept car.
“Maybe they don’t develop that concept per se, but it makes a statement about where the brand is going,” says Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst with the car buying site Autotrader.com.
This year’s auto show concepts are striving for one thing: simplicity. They all have serene interiors with real wood and minimal distractions. Karim Habib, Infiniti’s executive design director, says designers are reacting to all the visual stimulation in the world.
“It is our intention to be an antidote to that,” he said.
Here are some details on the concept cars at the show:
Infiniti Q Inspiration
The sleek sedan from Nissan Motor Co.’s luxury Infiniti brand explores how design will change as it moves to compact but powerful variable compression ratio engines. Habib said the smaller engine allows for a shorter hood and a bigger passenger cabin than Infiniti’s previous models. The exterior is bold and deceptively simple; there are few lines, but they’re deeply etched into the surface so the curves shift as the viewer moves around the vehicle. At first glance, it’s hard to see the grille, which is made of twisted metal painted the same color as the car. Inside, there are subtle details, like the traditional Japanese fabric made with gold rice paper that’s tucked under the door handles. Each passenger has a touchscreen that offers guided meditation to reduce stress. Habib says the interior is meant to reflect Japan’s tradition of polite, generous hospitality.
Lexus LF-1 Limitless
Vehicle brands have always had so-called flagship sedans, the big cars in the lineup that set the tone for all the others. Lexus, which invented the luxury crossover 20 years ago with the RX 300, is now playing with the idea of a flagship crossover SUV. The LF-1 is built so it can be powered by a fuel cell, a hybrid system, gasoline or a battery. By 2025, Lexus says, all of its models will have one of those options available. The LF-1 took its inspiration from a Japanese sword, imagining smooth molten metal flowing into a solid, chiseled form. Inside, knobs and buttons are replaced by motion-activated controls and a wide dashboard. Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken says Toyota Motor Corp.’s luxury Lexus brand will decide whether to build a flagship crossover based on customer and dealer response.
Nissan Xmotion
Nissan Motor Co.’s XMotion — pronounced “cross motion” — differs from the Infiniti and Lexus concepts in exterior styling; instead of spare, undulating designs, the Xmotion is solid, square and blocky. It’s ready for rugged use, with all-terrain tires and a retractable rooftop cargo box. But Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s global design director, said the tough exterior protects the soft, cocoon-like interior. The long center console, which runs from the front to the rear seats, is made of cedar and uses a traditional Japanese architectural wood joinery technique. Cedar is also used for slats below the dashboard, which are meant to convey the sturdy “bones” of the vehicle.