The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly looking into whether traders used another cryptocurrency called tether to bid up bitcoin prices during its 1,300 percent rally last year.
Federal prosecutors launched a broader criminal probe into cryptocurrencies earlier this year but now suspect that traders on crypto exchange Bitfinex may have been moving prices illegally, Bloomberg reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The news comes amidst bitcoin’s 16 percent price drop on Tuesday.
