https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/05/the-doj-is-reportedly-probing-the-murky-world-of-bitcoin-trading/ > Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have taken a wild ride over the past 18 months. Now, according to Bloomberg News, the US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into whether price manipulations have contributed to the meteoric rises and crushing falls. > The coins prosecutors are examining include bitcoin and ether, which have both bounced up and down over the past 18 months. In 2017, after bitcoin began the year with a price of about $1,000, it soared to just below $20,000 in December and then finished out the year at about $13,900. Ether followed an even steeper trajectory, beginning 2017 at about $8 and finishing at about $747. Prices for both currencies have experienced major volatility over the past six months.