Bitcoin Price Rally Gets Underway, U.S Regulators Launch Probe Into Price Manipulation

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Bitcoin Price Rally Gets Underway, U.S Regulators Launch Probe Into Price Manipulation
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Finally, it seems bitcoin has bottomed. Today- November 21, the market has seen some green after five days of nearly endless price bloodbath all around. Now, confused holders- most of which still don’t understand why bitcoin took such a dramatic price fall in such a short time, can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they are not losing investment value with every passing minute.

In the last 7 days, bitcoin has fallen from $6,200 to as low as $4,300, as it went down, bitcoin dragged almost all other cryptocurrencies and as a result over $41 billion was wiped off the market. The same has seen some major changes in market ranking. Following the drop, XRP was able to overtake Ethereum and become the largest altcoin.

Notably, throughout the drop, XRP remained stable and at times was able to record marginal gains. Some of its gains are credited to Coinbase announcing XRP custody support. This has since created hype around the coin with speculation that the exchange will soon list the coin.

Manipulation Claim Could Finally Be Settled

Like most, the U.S. Justice Department is looking for answers as to why Bitcoin rallied as high as it did in 2017. According to reports, the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether bitcoin was manipulated leading to the price rally last year. In 2017, bitcoin saw a price growth of up to 1,300%.

The department is investigating Bitfinex which at the surface of it seems to have colluded with Tether to manipulate bitcoin prices. In the past, there has been academic papers and experts who have been able to pinpoint the connection between price movement and Bitfinex transactions but never has the case been put to bed.

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The results of this case could well have an effect on the position bitcoin takes. If found that indeed there was manipulation, bitcoin’s value could dramatically fall as investors lose confidence in it. The same will lead to panic and given how low bitcoin is currently trading, there’s no telling how low it could go. If the investigation shows there was no manipulation, this should not see prices move by much but will see investor confidence go up.

For now, the crypto community is looking to see if the positive momentum will continue as the market goes through a price correction. If the bulls should continue rallying, we should see bitcoin find a position above $5,000. At the time of press, bitcoin is up by 2% and is trading above $4,500.