The U.S Hang on of Justice has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into cryptocurrency saleswomen who may have manipulated the market using old-school illicit tactics.
Mutual understanding to a report by Bloomberg on Thursday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the inquest, the investigation is being conducted together with the Commodity and Futures Return Commission (CFTC).
One area of the investigation targets so-called spoofing – a MO modus operandi that has been used in traditional financial markets to affect value movements by making large volumes of fake orders – that under any circumstances influenced trades of bitcoin and ether, according to the report.
In addition, DoJ is look into crypto traders who may have cheated the system by sending themselves overweight volumes of orders to create a mirage of increasing demand in order to tip other investors into making a progress.
The news marks the latest effort by U.S. authorities to ensure a fair cryptocurrency shop since the CFTC gave the green light to domestic exchanges to muster bitcoin-backed futures and derivative products late last year.
Today’s reveal also comes just weeks after a commissioner from CFTC gauged comments on the agency’s growing scrutiny over cryptocurrency activities that may have in the offing violated the law.
As previously reported by CoinDesk, speaking at a conference in Washington, D.C., CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz voted the agency is particularly focusing on “fraud, market manipulation and disruptive barter involving virtual currency.”
Department of Justice image via Shutterstock
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