慢速英语 | 比特币价格下跌一半
The price of Bitcoin dropped below $10,000 on Wednesday.
周三比特币价格跌至10000美元以下。
Bitcoin is the world’s best-known cryptocurrency.But, it has lost half of its value from the record price set last month.
比特币是世界上最著名的加密货币。但是上个月的创纪录价格却跌了一半。
The digital currency was valued at over $19,000 last December.On Wednesday, Bloomberg financial service said the price dropped to about $9,600.
去年12月，该数字货币价格达到了19000多美元。周三，彭博金融服务称该货币价格跌至9600美元。
Charles Hayter is a founder of Cryptocompare, a business that owns cryptocurrencies.He told Reuters, “There is a lot of panic in the market. People are selling.”He said the fall in the value of bitcoin is related to uncertainty about whether governments will try to set rules for its use.
查尔斯·海特是Cryptocompare公司的创始人，该公司拥有许多加密货币。查尔斯告诉路透社说：“市场上发生大面积恐慌。人们开始售卖加密货币。”他说比特币价格下跌与政府是否会对比特币使用设定规则的不确定性有关。
Bitcoin is different from national currencies, which are supported by governments and central banks.Bitcoin is stored as a line of computer code.It is not printed on paper or something you can hold like a coin.
比特币与需要政府和中央银行支持的国家货币不一样。比特币存储在一串电脑代码中。没有印在纸上，也不是像硬币似的可以拿着的东西。
Computers keep a global record of how each bitcoin is exchanged so that ownership and transactions can be confirmed.
电脑可以记录全球每枚比特币的交易记录，所以比特币的所有权和交易量都可以得到确认。
Last week, the South Korean government said that it is considering measures to ban trading of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.Officials also are expected to debate the rise of bitcoin at the upcoming G20 summit,a meeting of the world’s major economic powers, in Argentina in March.
上周，韩国政府称其正考虑采取措施禁止加密货币交易，包括比特币交易。相关官员希望能在即将召开的G20峰会上讨论比特币价格上涨问题，世界主要经济大国将参加该会议，该会议将于3月在阿根廷举办。
In January 2017, one bitcoin was worth around $1,000.
2017年1月，一枚比特币的价值是1000美元。
In April, the Japanese government recognized bitcoin as a legal currency for settlement of debts.As Venezuela’s national currency loses value, Venezuelans have increasingly turned to bitcoin for daily use.And North Korean computer hackers are believed to be stealing bitcoins from exchanges in South Korea.
4月，日本政府承认比特币为债务清偿的合法货币。由于国家货币贬值，委内瑞拉在日常中开始更多地使用比特币。据说朝鲜电脑黑客在韩国交易所窃取了比特币。
The digital currency reached its highest level in December after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission permitted trading in bitcoin futures.Futures are financial agreements for trading valuable property at set prices.
美国商品期货交易委员会允许比特币用于期货交易后，该数字货币价格在去年12月达到了最高峰。期货是以定价交易有价财产的金融协议。
Warren Buffett is an influential American investor and one of the richest men in the world.Last week, he warned: “In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending.”
沃伦·巴菲特是美国非常有影响力的一位投资者，也是世界上最富有的人之一。上周，他警告称：“关于加密货币，我大概可以确定的说它们的结果不会太好。”
Some observers say the recent drop in value shows that bitcoin was overpriced.Others welcome government rules and expect the extreme price changes to continue.
一些观察家称，最近价格跌落说明比特币定价太高。还有人非常乐意政府制定规则，并期待这种极端价格变化能够继续下去。
The price of bitcoin has dropped before.Marc Singer is an adviser with the investment company Singer Xenos.He noted that bitcoin lost 93 percent of its value in 2011 and half its value in 2015.
比特币价格之前也曾下跌。马克·辛格是Singer Xenos投资公司的顾问。他提到比特币价格在2011年曾下跌93%，2015年曾下跌一半。
Christopher Keshian is with the APEX Token Fund, an investment group.He told Reuters that the sharp change in value “is an expected, and important, part of the journey to becoming” an accepted asset.He expected sharp changes in value to continue and that the price of bitcoin would rise again.
克里斯托弗·凯森在瑞标基金投资公司工作。他告诉路透社说，比特币价格的急剧变化在预料之中，并且在其成为可接受资产的过程中也非常重要。他希望这种价格的急剧变化能够继续，也希望比特币的价格能再次上涨。
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that experts at Citi, an American financial company, said bitcoin could lose half of its value again, to about $5,000.
周三，路透社报道称，美国金融公司花旗银行的专家称比特币价格还会再跌一半，跌至5000美元。
I’m Jonathan Evans.
乔纳森·伊万斯为您播报。