FBI created a crypto token so it could watch it being abused • The Register
The FBI created its own cryptocurrency so it could watch suspected fraudsters use it – an idea that worked so well it produced arrests in three countries.
News of the Feds’ currency, an Ethereum-based instrument named NexFundAI, appeared in a Wednesday Department of Justice announcement that eighteen individuals have been charged “for widespread fraud and manipulation in the cryptocurrency markets.”
The Feds allege some of the fraud involved “wash trades” – transactions conducted solely to increase the volume of trades in a security or other asset. Rising volumes of trades are often seen as an indicator that a stock is of increasing interest as it has good growth prospects – a signal that can see prices rise. But wash trades are…
