The Bitcoin price fell moderately on Wednesday, while the Ethereum price continued its sharp decline amid reports of the possibility of continued criminal prosecution related to the ICO in the United States.
On the Bitfinex exchange, by 15:52 Moscow time, the Bitcoin rate decreased by 0.30% to $6257.0.
In general, cryptocurrencies have fallen in price. At the time of writing, the total capitalization of the foreign exchange market was $187 billion, compared to the $195 billion value recorded on Tuesday.
The second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization, Ethereum, fell by 10.67% to $171.64 on the Bitfinex exchange. This is close to the recently recorded low for the year of $169.40. The third largest digital currency by capitalization, Ripple, fell by 1.49% and was trading at $0.25801. At the time of writing, the Litecoin rate was down 10.39% to $48,421.
A Brooklyn district judge ruled Tuesday that an initial coin offering (ICO) fraud case can proceed under U.S. securities laws. This is the first criminal case in the United States that concerns fraud during ICOs with cryptocurrencies.
The ruling by Brooklyn District Judge Raymond Deary means that the criminal prosecution of US citizen Maxim Zaslavsky can continue. Zaslavsky is accused of fraudulently conducting ICOs for two cryptocurrencies, which he said were backed by real estate and a diamond business.
Several funds, crypto exchanges and blockchain projects, including Coinbase and Circle, have founded the Blockchain Association, which will lobby for the interests of blockchain companies in Washington. According to The Washington Post, the goal of the Blockchain Association will be to promote the technologies that underlie Bitcoin, as well as influence politicians to develop technology and solve problems regulating the industry.
The Association will pay special attention to how the use of cryptocurrencies is regulated in tax legislation, as well as the fight against money laundering and the collection of information about users of cryptocurrency exchanges.
With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, regulators around the world are trying to find means of control over this area. Cryptocurrency exchanges have come under close scrutiny over the past few years.