Bitcoin rebounds to $15 000 as investors find a bottom, for now

New York - Bitcoin appeared to find a bottom on Friday, rebounding to $15 000 after moves by South Korea to curb speculation and protect retail customers took the cryptocurrency down more than 8% on Thursday.

Bitcoin was up almost 8% to $15 032 as of 14:16 Hong Kong time, composite Bloomberg pricing showed. The digital currency has slumped about 23% from its record $19 511 reached on December 18, when the CME Group 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.

READ: Bitcoin resumes slide after biggest rally in two weeks

"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 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% for the year.