Alternative currencies

A Thessaloniki court on Friday opened an extradition trial of a Russian cybercrime suspect charged with masterminding a money laundering racket using the digital currency bitcoin. 

A Russian suspected of masterminding a money-laundering operation using bitcoin appeared in a Greek court on Friday for a hearing to consider his extradition to the United States.

Alexander Vinnik was arrested in a hotel in northern Greece in late July on a US warrant. Russia has since also requested his extradition on separate fraud charges, his lawyer Xanthippi Moisidou said.

A senior executive at China's state-backed internet finance body said on Sept. 15 "stateless" digital tokens such as bitcoin posed risks as they could be used for illegal actions, and rules are needed to support the development of "legal" digital currencies.

The CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon has denounced the bitcoin cryptocurrency as a fraud, bound to fail.

"The currency isn't going to work. You can't have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart," Dimon said at a bank investor conference in New York.

The price of Bitcoin has plummeted in the last three days after the virtual currency hit record levels, according to The Telegraph.co.uk.

Values of other cryptocurrencies such as Ethererum and Ripple have also plunged, wiping billions off their combined values.

The price of Bitcoin reached new record this Moday, continuing its growth from the weekend mainly due to the high demand in Japan, reports Investor.bg.

The price of Bitcoin reached USD 4 330,71 overpassing the previous record of USD 4 225,40 according to data of the specialised website CoinDesk.

All eyes are currently pointed at Bitcoin because the cryptocurrency divided in two, reports Profit.bg

A US jury indicted a Russian man on Wednesday as the operator of a digital currency exchange he allegedly used to launder more than $4 billion for people involved in crimes ranging from computer hacking to drug trafficking.

Greek authorities say they have arrested a Russian man wanted in the United States on suspicion of masterminding a money laundering operation involving at least $4 billion through bitcoin transactions.

Bitcoin traded near its all-time high price late on Thursday after the intense debate over the cryptocurrency's future appears to be heading to a positive end, according to CNBC.

The price of bitcoin hit a high of USD 2,948.51 on Thursday evening, just shy of the record high USD 3,025.47 reached on June 11, according to data from CoinDesk.