Largest bitcoin fraud

Bitcoin - a virtual monetary system based on digital tokens of no intrinsic value - was conceived in 2008. By November 2013 its value had soared to US$1,000 (£613) per bitcoin. The currency has already suffered from fraud losses. According to bitcointalk.org and a November 2013 report in the Washington Post, the worst loss was that of the Bitcoin Savings and Trust, which reportedly lost the equivalent to US$5.6 million by the time it was shut down by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2012. The scheme, according to a suit filed by the US SEC, offered up to 7% interest per week, but new investments were used to pay off outstanding returns – in effect, another classic Ponzi scheme.