KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — Resources to mitigate suicidal feelings were made available on a sub-forum concerning bitcoin on the Reddit aggregation site today, after the cryptocurrency's value fell by over 25 per cent.
The surge in bitcoin value has attracted growing numbers to venture into cryptocurrency trading, but some have been caught unawares by the extreme volatility of the unregulated market.
Bitcoin value has see-sawed from recent highs of nearly US$20,000 (RM79,000) last month to just over US$10,000 today.
Some who caught the rising wave briefly became paper billionaires, but those who came aboard after regulators began cracking down are taking actual losses.
“If you feel you might be suicidal, and live in the United States, I urge you to call the Suicide Hotline at 800-273-8255 or navigate to http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ for a live chat and additional resources,” a user posted on the r/Cryptocurrency subreddit.
Subreddits are effectively specialised sub-forums on Reddit.
“If you do not live in the United States please seek out local resources. /r/SuicideWatch has a list that may cover your country: /r/SuicideWatch/wiki/hotlines. Let others know if you need any other guidance to people who help.”
Bitcoin in Malaysia, like most other countries, operates in a grey area. It is not accepted as legal tender, yet its use and trading are not prohibited outright.
Bank Negara Malaysia has declined to regulate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying only that it will expand anti-money laundering laws to cover these instead.
