Justice Department launches probe into Bitcoin price manipulation, report claims

Internet forums are full of theories on who’s pushing the price of Bitcoin this or that way, and they range from somewhat plausible to completely ludicrous. But could some of them be right?

The U.S. Justice Department has launched a criminal probe into whether the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are being manipulated by traders, Bloomberg reported Thursday. 

This manipulation can include practices such as spoofing (placing large numbers of buy or sell orders with no intent to fill them) and wash trading (simultaneously buying and selling the same asset to create fake volume on the market). You will rarely see these illegal methods used in established stock markets, but some may be using them to profit in the largely unregulated world of cryptocurrencies, teeming with millions of inexperienced traders.  Read more…

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