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Determining the true value of cryptocurrencies is a common concern, and the Justice Department is trying to keep a fair playing field. Federal prosecutors, with the help of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has launched a probe into currency manipulation by some associated with the Bitcoin market.

NewsBTC has the full story. Below is an excerpt.

The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into cryptocurrency price manipulation purported by market participants. In the meantime, Bitcoin continues to move lower towards the $7,000 line in an overall gloomy week for digital currencies.

U.S. federal prosecutors are working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in a criminal probe that focuses on price manipulation schemes, including spoofing – a widely practiced form of price influence in which traders flood the market with fake orders in order to bait other players into taking the opposite side – and wash trading, in which the cheater trades with themself to create a false impression of market demand and trading volume.

Extreme market volatility and lack of regulatory oversight over trading platforms have led the justice system and financial watchdogs in the U.S. to worry over the cryptocurrency market and potential criminal market plays. China has cracked down on its cryptocurrency ecosystem, particularly Bitcoin miners, trading platforms, and digital currency payments solutions providers, over similar concerns, but also in order to keep its centralized financial system unchallenged.

New regulatory actions promoted in Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, the Philippines, and other countries, may have helped drown the price of Bitcoin in 2018. Bitcoin came from its all-time highs in the $20,000 area only to be pulled down as the new year promised more government coordination regarding cryptocurrencies.

Gemini Trust, the New York-based digital asset exchange led by the Winklevoss twins, has recently hired Nasdaq Inc. to conduct surveillance of cryptocurrency trading on their platform. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have called for the creation of a self-regulatory body made up by trading platforms within the industry.

As always, we’ll continue to keep our readers updated on any security and trading issues that arise in this new marketplace. Please feel free to discuss Bitcoin security  and price manipulations in our forum below. We’ll do our best to answer any questions that arise.