The Justice Department of the United States has reportedly started a criminal investigation into the possibilities of market manipulation of cryptocurrencies by traders.
Bloomberg is reporting that the DOJ is working with the CFTC to focus on any illegal activity that may be going on in the cryptocurrency markets.
The investigation is looking into “spoofing”, which is a form of market manipulation where traders execute a bunch of false orders to confuse other market traders into buying or selling. Another practice known as “wash trading” – where various traders buy and sell with themselves to make it look like there is more market activity and bring more investors into the markets.
While the investigation is still in its early stages, the investigators are currently only focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum markets.
News of this investigation coincided with a continued decline in BTC prices, currently hitting a low of $7,260 this month.