BTC-e

A Russian wanted by the United States for allegedly laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin appeared in a Greek court on Wednesday for a hearing to consider his extradition to Moscow on different charges.

A Thessaloniki court on Wednesday approved a request by US authorities for the extradition of a Russian man suspected of using a bitcoin exchange to launder billions of dollars but the suspect appealed to the Supreme Court.

A Greek court ruled Wednesday to extradite Russian cybercrime suspect Alexander Vinnik to the United States, where he is wanted in connection with a $4 billion bitcoin fraud case.

The three-member panel of judges backed the US extradition request for the 37-year-old, who was arrested while on vacation in northern Greece on July 25.

A Thessaloniki court on Friday opened an extradition trial of a Russian cybercrime suspect charged with masterminding a money laundering racket using the digital currency bitcoin. 

A Russian suspected of masterminding a money-laundering operation using bitcoin appeared in a Greek court on Friday for a hearing to consider his extradition to the United States.

Alexander Vinnik was arrested in a hotel in northern Greece in late July on a US warrant. Russia has since also requested his extradition on separate fraud charges, his lawyer Xanthippi Moisidou said.

A US jury indicted a Russian man on Wednesday as the operator of a digital currency exchange he allegedly used to launder more than $4 billion for people involved in crimes ranging from computer hacking to drug trafficking.

Cryptocurrency investors have suffered heavy losses following a dramatic drop in the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum in recent days.

Bitcoin fell to around $1,863 and Ethereum to around $133 over the weekend - 38 percent and 67 percent off their all-time high respectively. Bitcoin, in particular, suffered heavy losses since hitting a high of $3,018 on June 12.