Department of Justice is investigating Tether's connection to Bitcoin's price rally

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is investigating whether last year’s Bitcoin rally was driven by manipulation involving Tether. In December 2017, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) subpoenaed both Tether and the exchange that issues the controversial stablecoin; Bitfinex. In May, Bloomberg reported that the DoJ together with the CFTC is conducting a criminal investigation into illegal trading practices that manipulate the prices of cryptocurrencies.

Now the federal prosecutors have supposedly "homed in on suspicions that a tangled web involving Bitcoin, Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex might have been used to illegally move prices." The DoJ is working with the CFTC on the investigation but neither the DoJ nor the CFTC has accused anyone of any wrongdoing yet. Bitfinex hasn't yet responded to requests seeking comment. (Source: Bloomberg)