Bitcoin value sinks after FBI busts Silk Road

By IVCPOST Staff Reporter

Oct 03, 2013 09:04 AM EDT

On Wednesday, the value of the bitcoin digital currency had slumped, said a Reuters report. The report continued on stating that bitcoin's decrease in value was after US law enforcers closed Silk Road, an online marketplace used to acquire and sell prohibited drugs.

According to Mt. Gox, a trading website using bitcoins, the digital currency slumped from USD129 from its previous USD140 value yesterday. Earlier, the currency traded lowest at USD110.

A report from Reuters cited bitcoins supporters who said the digital currency had offered a lot of benefits including lower fraud risks and privacy. However, critics argued that the anonymity of the digital currency had increased illegal drug transactions, money laundering and illegal activities. The drop of the digital currency started after the FBI arrested the 29 year-old Ross William Ulbricht, Silk Road's owner, on Tuesday in San Francisco. The federal criminal charges filed against Ulbricht indicated that Silk Road had allowed tech-savvy sellers to post ads for illegal products in exchange of bitcoins. 

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