In a move sure to escalate current tensions between Russia and the USA and may be the be a perfect example of current market climate of Bitcoin and altcoins, the US Federal Government seized the domain name belonging to BTC-e.
The reason for the seizure was the recent development after the arrest of Alex Vinnik that the stolen Mt. Gox funds had likely been laundered by the site, nearly $4 bln in Bitcoin.
Funds are being kept safe by the site which claims it will be back online within five to ten days. The seizure by the US government most likely means the site will be closed permanently.
Many in the crypto universe will view this as a good move by the USA with the criminal activity certainly hurting the state Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.
Source, Cointelegraph https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-government-seizes-russian-bitcoin-exchange-btc-e-domain