Most bitcoin trading faked by unregulated exchanges, study finds

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By Paul Vigna
The Wall Street Journal
Friday, March 22, 2019

Nearly 95 percent of all reported trading in bitcoin is artificially created by unregulated exchanges, a new study concludes, raising fresh doubts about the nascent market following a steep decline in prices over the past year.

Fraudulent trading volume has dogged cryptocurrency trading for years, but the extent of the market manipulation has been difficult to determine. Bitwise Asset Management said its analysis of trading activity at 81 exchanges over four days in March indicates that the actual market for bitcoin is far smaller than previously thought.

Bitwise's fund, if approved, would be based upon the 5 percent of trading it considers legitimate, said Matthew Hougan, Bitwise's head of global research. That volume comes from 10 regulated exchanges that can verify that their trading data and customers are real. This slice of the market, he said, is well-regulated, transparent, and efficient. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/most-bitcoin-tra...nregulated-e...

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