Bitcoin price rises above $36,000 despite regulation calls
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren referred to cryptocurrency markets as the "Wild West"
Bitcoin price slumps after DOJ recovered pipeline hack ransom
Jodie Kelley, Electronic Transactions Association CEO, discusses the hit to Bitcoin and explains how the Justice Department was able to recover much of the ransom paid out during the Colonial Pipeline hack.
Bitcoin was trading more than 8% higher on Thursday morning.
The price was around $36,293 per coin, while rivals Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading around $2,545 and 33 cents per coin, respectively, according to Coindesk.
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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called for oversight of the cryptocurrency market in order to protect consumers from scams coming from the growing interest in the digital currencies.
Warren chaired a Senate Banking subcommittee hearing on Wednesday looking at issues with cryptocurrencies as well as whether the U.S. Federal Reserve should issue its own digital currency.
Warren referred to cryptocurrency markets as the "Wild West" during an interview on Bloomberg TV.
CRYPTO NEEDS REGULATION, BUT IT DOESN’T NEED NEW RULES
The senator didn't suggest new regulations, but said that some financial market protections aren’t available for cryptocurrencies.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks at the U.S. Capitol on July 22, 2020. (Getty Images)
Meanwhile, police in China arrested more than 1,000 people suspected of using cryptocurrencies to launder illegal proceeds from telephone and Internet scams, according to Reuters.
The Ministry of Public Security said the arrests came as authorities in China stepped up their crackdown on cryptocurrency trading.
IRS WANTS CONGRESS TO HELP COLLECT CRYPTOCURRENCY TAX INFORMATION
Last month, three industry bodies banned crypto-related financial and payment services, and the State Council, China's cabinet, vowed to clamp down on bitcoin mining and trading.
The public security ministry said that by Wednesday afternoon police had busted more than 170 criminal groups involved in using cryptocurrencies to launder money.
Because cryptocurrencies are anonymous, convenient and global in nature, "they have increasingly become an important channel for cross-border money laundering," the association said in a statement.
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Cryptocurrencies have already become a popular means of payment in illegal gambling activities, according to Reuters.