The U.S. channel CNBC said Thursday that the price of bitcoin fell after the South Korean Financial Services Commission took more steps to limit speculation in cryptocurrency trading in the country.

According to CoinDesk, a cryptocurrency information provider, the price of bitcoin plunged to 13-thousand-600 dollars, more than 25 percent below its record high reached this month.

At one time, the digital currency hovered around 20-thousand dollars after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange launched bitcoin futures earlier this month. 

CNBC said that news of South Korea’s government tightening regulations on cryptocurrency further contracted the sentiment of investors around the world. 

U.S. media has closely followed the frenzy in South Korea over bitcoin and other digital currency. 

The Wall Street Journal had said that South Korea accounted for as much as a quarter of global bitcoin trading activity. 

The New York Times recently reported that trading between the Korean won and ether, the most valuable bitcoin competitor, was nearly as active as trading between the dollar and ether, despite the fact that South Korea’s population is one-sixth of that of the U.S.