Bitcoin falls as US seizes most of Colonial Pipeline ransom

Bitcoin’s price declined on June 8. The move may be related to concerns over security of the cryptocurrency after U.S. officials handled to recover most of the ransom paid to hackers. Remarkably, it targeted Colonial Pipeline.

Court documents announced investigators were able to access the password for one of the hackers’ bitcoin wallets. The money was recovered by a recently launched task force in Washington created as part of the government’s response to a surge in cyberattacks.

According to Coin Metrics data, The dominant cryptocurrency in the world declined by more than 7% and traded at $32,936. Meanwhile, smaller digital coins also fell. The second-largest cryptocurrency ether declined by more than 7% to $2,512, and XRP also dipped by about 7%.

In April, Bitcoin witnessed massive gains, increasing to an all-time high of $60,000. However, a recent fall in crypto prices has shaken confidence in the market. Bitcoin dropped to nearly $30,000 in May and is currently down about 50% from its record high.

Bitcoin is now up only 13% since the start of the year. However, it’s still more than tripled in price from a year ago.

US law enforcement officials had seized $2.3m in bitcoin paid to DarkSide

On June 7, U.S. law enforcement officials announced they had seized $2.3 million in bitcoin paid to DarkSide, the cybercriminal gang behind a crippling cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline.

A court document revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation could access the password for one of the hackers’ bitcoin wallets. BTC  has often been the currency of choice for hackers demanding ransom payments to decrypt data locked by malware identified as ransomware.

DarkSide, operated a so-called ransomware as a service business model, where hackers develop and market ransomware tools and sell them to associates who then carry out attacks.

Fears of a regulatory clampdown and recent tweets from Elon Musk affected cryptos

Several issues affect cryptocurrencies, including fears of a regulatory clampdown and recent tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk.

Chinese authorities in May called for a crackdown on crypto mining and trading. China has banned a fundraising method known as initial coin offerings and shuttering local exchanges.

Additionally, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company stopped accepting bitcoin as a payment method last month because of environmental concerns, resulting in a crypto market sell-off.

In May, thousands of bitcoin investors descended on Miami for an event billed as the biggest bitcoin event in history.

The conference had a few bizarre highlights, including El Salvador President Nayib Bukele reporting plans for the country to accept bitcoin as legal tender.