Bitcoin network

Hungarian bitcoin enthusiasts unveiled a statue in Budapest which they say is the first in the world to honor Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic inventor of the virtual currency. 

The bronze bust is of a hooded figure, in an allusion to the fact that the true identity of Nakamoto, a pseudonym, is unknown.     

The plunge in bitcoin came after a big sell-off in global stock markets

The mother of a Russian man jailed in Greece pending three extradition requests for alleged bitcoin fraud has appealed for his release, ahead of another legal bid to end his detention.

Hundreds of people around the world have been arrested after a child pornography site in the Dark web was taken down by authorities in March 2018. The site has been selling child sexual abuse videos for Bitcoins.

The charges were brought against 337 users from 12 different countries. Among the accused is the alleged head of the site, 23-year-old South Korean Jong Woo Son.

Russian authorities have sent a new extradition request to Greece for a Russian cybercrime suspect also sought on criminal charges by the US and France.

Alexander Vinnik, 38, a former bitcoin platform operator, was informed of the new Russian request by Thessaloniki court officials Wednesday, and is not contesting it.

Engineers from a large nuclear research center in Russia were arrested after being caught trying to dig bitcoin on their powerful lab computers, the France press reported, citing local news agencies.

The world's most valuable cryptocurrency, bitcoin, has lost over half its value since it smashed the $20,000 barrier in mid-December. The price of the cryptocurrency dropped to $9,555 at 15:00 GMT on Wednesday.

"The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a serious attack from speculators," Gleb Zadoya, head of analytics at Analitika Online said in email comments to RT.

Bitcoin slid as much as 14 percent on Tuesday to hit a four-week low below $12,000, as fears grew of a regulatory crackdown after reports that South Korea's finance minister had said banning trading in cryptocurrencies was still an option, reported Reuters. 

Greece's Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a request to extradite a Russian cybercrime suspect to the United States to stand trial for allegedly laundering billions of dollars using the virtual currency bitcoin.

Alexander Vinnik made his final appearance at an Athens court Wednesday amid an ongoing legal battle between the US and Russia, who are both seeking his extradition.

Greece's Supreme Court is due to rule whether to allow the extradition of a Russian cybercrime suspect to the United States to stand trial for allegedly laundering billions of dollars using the virtual currency bitcoin.

Alexander Vinnik appeared at the Athens court Wednesday amid an ongoing legal battle between the US and Russia who are both seeking his extradition.