British investors are turning to Bitcoin as a result of the recent decline in the value of the pound sterling (GBP) relative to the dollar, which has been driven by worries that the country's financial crisis will worsen.

The noticeable increase in bitcoin trading volume against pound reflects many investors view that Bitcoin offers an easily accessible place to move funds when they feel risk of inflation is high. Which is why the week began with Bitcoin trading volume of people buying with the British Pound hit a record high of GBP 840 million (valued at $881 million USD)

The average daily trade volume of bitcoin in pounds is seen in the chart below at slightly over $72 million. Making this an increase of approximately 1,150%...

This is an amount too large to brush off as anything but a deliberate direct response. 

"When a fiat currency is threatened, investors start to favor bitcoin." said James Butterfill, research director at coinshares.

GBP to BTC Volume via Coinshares

Gabor Gurbacs, digital asset/crypto investment strategist at investment giant VanEck explains “Given that the UK is now outside of the EU bureaucratic apparatus, it will get another chance to become a Bitcoin hub. I think UK leaders will use this opportunity reasonably well.”

However, a number of analysts have noted that a strong US dollar is partly to blame for the recent declines in the value of the British pound and the euro, and it is extremely likely that this factor is also in the way of a crypto market recovery.

Or to put it another way, we might not notice a significant rise in bitcoin and cryptocurrency ownership until the US dollar starts to lose its position as the strongest currency in the world.

Still, this is one of multiple recent stories giving crypto investors a strong indication that it isn't a matter of 'if' the market will come back, but 'when'... 

What does seem to now be proven is that investors globally are still interested in crypto, and willing to buy and trade it when they see an upside.

-------
Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News

The Police department of Manchester, UK has announced that their specialist officers recovered $22.2 million in crypto after finding and taking down a scam operation, where a 23-year-old male and a 25-year-old female were arrested for fraud and money laundering offences.

90% of the assets that were stolen are now recovered...

Once the scammers location was tracked down, detectives went to make the arrests and discovered USB sticks containing "large quantities" of Ethereum, along with additional crypto found in a wallet the criminals were using to earn interest on their stolen coins.

Authorities say those stolen coins came from users all over - United Kingdom, Europe, China, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States. 

So far, 23 victims have received compensation after authorities verified their claims, while another 127 possible claims are being investigated.

Detectives suspect there are more victims out there who are owed money...

While they did not disclose the exact scam name, they described it as a "fake savings and trading service that ended up being a rug pull" and that it operated on Binance Smart Chain.

They want to return as much as possible to the victims but millions still remain unclaimed. Anyone who has been a victim of similar sounding fraud should contact OpGabbro@gmp.police.uk

Those who lost funds in scam that fits this description and are interested in potentially recouping their losses will be required to provide the name of the service they invested in, as well as wallet addresses and proof of ownership.

"With that comes a new type of crime and we're seeing a rise in opportunist criminals looking to exploit these trends as well as any gaps in the technology that can be manipulated. It's vital that we as a force adapt to what is an emerging type of crime, and demonstrate that there will be repercussions, regardless of the platform this fraudulent activity takes place on." said Detective Chief Inspector Joe Harrop of Greater Manchester Police's Economic Crime Unit.

When it comes to crypto crime, law enforcement is becoming more sophisticated...

Specialized officers who are familiar with digital assets are being trained in police forces around the world, and blockchain intelligence organizations are assisting detectives in following the paper trail.

This is one of several recent wins in the headlines...

The US Justice Department recovered Bitcoin worth $3.6 billion stolen from Bitfinex in 2016 earlier this month, in its largest financial seizure on record.

Such high-profile successes are ultimately a positive for Bitcoin, strengthening institutional investor trust and possibly making criminals reconsider.

----------------
Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News