The government of South Korea has banned its financial institutions from dealing in virtual currencies such as Bitcoin on Wednesday. The announcement has come amid soaring crypto currency prices fuelled by retail speculators in the country.

Two of its best-known rivals of Bitcoin – Ethereum and Litecoin – have soared to new records. The crypto currencies have had some crazy runs in the recent time, however, mostly Bitcoin. This time, not Bitcoin, but Ethereum has been making the news for hitting a new all-time high and going past $600 price barrier for the first time.

Australia’s central bank chief Philip Lowe is the latest dignitary to raise the alarm on Bitcoin. Lowe said that the current fascination with the crypto currency feels more like a speculative mania and in all likelihood it poses a grave threat to appeal to criminals than consumers.

Bitcoin has taken over the world. Not just Bitcoin, but most crypto assets, have had crazy runs this year. Would 2018 be any different for ballistic Bitcoin?

Hong Kong-based gaming company Dragon Corporation is attempting to raise more than $400 million to construct a floating cryptocurrency casino in Macau. The token sale was open for investors in “most countries except the United States, mainland China, and Singapore.”

An app pretending to be MyEtherWallet, a free service for storing digital currencies, soared to the top of the iOS App Store before being taken down. The threat has come following a great week for Bitcoin and other crypto currencies wherein the crypto currency market witnessed an increase by more than 20 percent while the price Bitcoin broke $17,000 barrier for the first time.

Bitcoin entered the world of mainstream finance on Sunday, December 10, 2017, with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Global Markets’ launch of Bitcoin future contracts. In the debut session on CBOE’s exchange, the crypto currency surged as much as 25 percent.

A Bitcoin mining company in Slovenia, NiceHash, has reported a heist of tens of millions of dollars. The incident has happened just days before the virtual currency starts trading on major U.S. exchanges.

Bitcoin has carried on its unstoppable rally to pierce through $17000 amid speculations of the nearing bubble bust. According to the latest available data on coinmarketcap.com, the BTC/USD pair is trading at $17,096.80.

After having put a lot of thought into the idea of futures contracts on crypto currencies such as Bitcoin, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has held back the move. According to the chief executive of ICE Jeff Sprecher, the opaque nature of the underlying markets has made them stay put.

The value of Bitcoin has experienced a surged on the back of a strong trading session at night on Tuesday, having risen by 10 percent to top $14,000 for the first time

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a public warning on the use of crypto currencies for the second time this year. India's central banking institution warned adopters (“users, holders and traders”) of virtual currencies (VCs) such as Bitcoin, regarding “potential economic, legal, financial, operational, customer protection and security related risks.” The first caution had come earlier in February this year.

Bitcoin has reached a fresh record high, breaking $12k on Tuesday and strengthening its gains. No clear catalyst was identified to have led to today's upsurge, although the positive impact of CBOE offering bitcoin futures might have carried over.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has turned to the world of crypto currencies, announcing the launch of virtual currency “petro” backed by oil reserves.

The UK and EU countries mull over a crackdown on the crypto market with the aim to bring digital currency in line with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial legislation. The UK government is reportedly negotiating amendments to the anti-money-laundering directive.

Bitcoin has touched a new high. On December 3, the Bitcoin value achieved a new all-time high at $11,874. Earlier on Saturday, Bitcoin picked up steam to cross $11,000 barrier for the second time this week.

The governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, has called Bitcoin is a speculative asset. Villeroy also warned those pondering over investing in Bitcoin, stating that those who do, do so entirely at their ‘own risk.’

Crypto currency has been deemed illegal in India. The Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley, has said that India does not recognise crypto currency as a legal tender.

Now, Ethereum has done it! The second largest crypto currency by market size, Ethereum (ETH) has crossed $500 milestone for the first time. The data from cross-exchange resource Coinmarketcap shows ETH is currently trading at around $440, after registering a new high to reach $522 before falling.

The Nasdaq exchange, the second-largest stock exchange in the world, may begin to offer Bitcoin futures next year. Bitcoin futures are an in-demand option, driving a number of exchanges to consider the possibility.