Trading of Bitcoin Cash temporarily suspended pending an investigation

On Tuesday, Coinbase allowed its users to buy, sell, send and receive Bitcoin Cash but suspended trades following allegations on social media that illegal transactions were being conducted.

Coinbase was concerned that its own workers had exploited the shift towards Bitcoin Cash and away from Bitcoin after its price skyrocketed.

Brian Armstrong said he told his workers to keep the launch plans a secret and not trade the digital asset.

"If we find evidence of any employee or contractor violating our policies  -  directly or indirectly  - I will not hesitate to terminate the employee immediately and take appropriate legal action," he said

When Bitcoin Cash was created after splitting from Bitcoin they offered everyone who owned Bitcoin a matching sum of Bitcoin Cash, but many exchanges like Coinbase initially refused to support the currency.

Indeed, trading of Bitcoin Cash on Coinbase was suspended just four minutes after it began.

At its launch on Coinbase, Bitcoin Cash was valued at about $3,500 (£2,612) per coin, four minutes later the price had jumped to $8,500.

In reaction, Coinbase opened an investigation into the reasons behind the jump in case it was a software glitch or if deals were really being made at this price. They were also set to look into why the price rose before the Coinbase support announcement was made.

Trading was set to recommence at 9 a.m Pacific time and it was expected to enter a post-only mode to ensure stability.

Bitcoin Cash was the third biggest cryptocurrency with a total market capitalization of $59bn, according to Coinmarketcap.