Cryptocurrency's flash crash draws scrutiny from US watchdogs

New York

A POPULAR digital-coin exchange is drawing scrutiny from US regulators over a June flash crash that erased most of the value in the second largest cryptocurrency before traders had time to blink their eyes.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has requested information from Coinbase Inc about a June 21 incident on its GDAX platform in which the ether digital token suffered a precipitous drop, falling to 10 cents from US$317.81 in milliseconds before quickly recovering, said two people familiar with the matter.