Bitcoin Cash Briefly Spikes To $8,500 After Massive Glitch; Trading Halted On “Insider Trading” Probe
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Dec 20, 2017
As we detailed earlier, hours after announcing support for Bitcoin Cash, crypto-exchange Coinbase suffered a massive glitch which saw prices for the forked-cryptocurrency hit $8,500 for about an hour – around 250% higher than ‘normal’. It is unclear if any trades were executed during the spike, as trading was disabled for much of the anomaly.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, the company halted trading of the currency four minutes after trading began.
Hours later, Coinbase announced an investigation into whether any employees, contractors or their friends and family used confidential information about its plans to trade Bitcoin Cash before its announcement.
“It appears the price of bitcoin cash on other exchanges increased in the hours before our announcement... [while there’s] no indication of any wrongdoing at this time, we will be conducting an investigation…”
Coinbase in a blog post said it “maintains a strict trading policy and internal guidelines for employees.”
In bold font, the company added: “Coinbase employees have been prohibited from trading in Bitcoin Cash for several weeks.”
Noting the price increase of Bitcoin Cash in the hours before the announcement, Mr. Armstrong said Coinbase will be conducting an investigation into the matter.
“If we find evidence of any employee or contractor violating our policies—directly or indirectly—I will not hesitate to terminate the employee immediately and take appropriate legal action” he wrote.
The Rest…HERE
